KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Three Tennessee representatives who got national attention after state lawmakers introduced resolutions to expel them from the House of Representatives are expected to visit the White House on Monday.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned they were expected to visit at the start of the White House briefing on Wednesday.
On April 6, representatives Justin Jones (D - Nashville), Justin Pearson (D - Shelby County), and Gloria Johnson (D - Knoxville) faced expulsion votes. They walked up to the "well" in the House of Representatives chamber during a protest where students advocated for gun restrictions, following a school shooting that killed three children and three adults in Nashville.
Representatives said Jones and Pearson were expelled for using a megaphone and displaying a sign. Johnson stood with them and kept her seat by a single vote. She later said they used a megaphone because they were concerned their microphones would be cut off as they had been in the past.
The White House released a statement on April 6 about the expulsion votes.
"Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee," the statement said.
Jones and Pearson were later reinstated to the House as interim members while their districts organized special elections.
On April 7, President Joe Biden also posted on social media saying he spoke with the Tennessee Three via teleconference.