Global Courant 2023-04-14 06:45:13
Tempers flared in the House Republican caucus after a handful of members opposed Rep. Gloria Johnson voted, according to edited audio from a Monday caucus meeting.
The Republican leadership this week worked to portray a united front and continue a historic double eviction vote that thrust the Democrats into the national spotlight and sparked nationwide criticism of Tennessee House Republicans.
But audio leaked Monday from a House GOP caucus meeting — just days after Republicans voted to oust representatives. Justin Jones, D-Nashville and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, but not Johnson, D-Knoxville – shattered the message of unity the House GOP has been pushing as it tries to move forward.
The Politics of Expulsion: How Republicans gave Democrats a big win with historic votes
In the recording, senior GOP leaders vocally expressed their frustration, accusing Reps Jody Barrett, R-Dickson and Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro for breaking the caucus and voting against Johnson’s expulsion, saying, “you have hung us to dry.”
“Dear God, we got a call — you brought racism into it because you didn’t stay with us,” Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, heard on the recording. “I don’t want to hear why there was the preponderance of the evidence as a lawyer – I need to know why you reversed your vote at the last minute.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, speaks ahead of a vote to remove her from the House of Representatives at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, April 6, 2023. The attempt to remove her from office failed by one voice.
The audio has been edited and does not include other caucus members who spoke during the meeting.
Edited audio was posted for the first time by the liberal advocacy site The Tennessee Holler. The Tennessean independently confirmed that the audio came from a private caucus meeting on Monday, April 10.
“The leaked audio from our private caucus meeting was truncated and did not include the entirety of our internal conversation,” Zachary said in a statement to The Tennessean.
“As for my comments, it is clear from the audio that my goal was to clear the air and end the frustration our members felt following Thursday’s eviction vote,” he said. “The House Republican Caucus will not be distracted by the events of the past few weeks. We will continue to fulfill the mandate given to us by Tennessee voters by pursuing sound conservative policies that have made Tennessee the best state in the country to live, work and raise a family.”
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Audio makes it clear that the Republican leadership thought they had locked in their caucus votes to oust all three Democrats last Thursday — despite the fact that Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, was elected shortly before the vote said he hadn’t made a decision yet.
House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, can be heard on the audio saying he was “surprised” by Barrett’s request to ask questions of Johnson at the hearing, “as if that would have made a difference.”
“We already had the jury. This was obviously not a trial, but I knew that every one of your votes counts. I knew we didn’t have to convince you all,” Garrett says in the audio. “When you came up to me about two minutes before Gloria’s final close and said you didn’t want to do it, I was shocked.”
“It will take us a while to process your reasoning,” Garrett adds over the audio.
Garrett did not respond to an email request for comment or a message left at his office.
In the audio, Barrett defends his vote, arguing that the leaders had failed to prove the claims against Johnson, as outlined in the eviction resolution.
‘I know what she did. I know she broke the rules. I know she deserved to be expelled, but we have to get it right, and that wasn’t right,” Barrett argues in the audio. “I went back to my desk. I sat there and had my internal debate about what to do. The bell is ringing, I’m afraid I’m going to vote yes on a resolution that I know is wrong.”
Barrett explains in the audio that he went to Garrett to ask for permission to “go off script” and ask questions to help defend the Republican case for eviction, but House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has him never called before the vote.
Barrett’s comments in the audio match a lengthy statement he released last week explaining his voice.
When reached for comment specifically on the caucus meeting audio, Barrett referred The Tennessean to the House GOP Caucus spokesperson.
Several times on the audio, there is clear pressure from GOP leadership to follow the party line.
“You got to do what’s right – even if you think it’s wrong – you got to do what’s right,” Rep. hears. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, say. “You gotta protect this freakin’ republic here in Tennessee, or you know what, let’s all go home.”
Cepicky did not respond to a text message regarding the audio.
When asked for comment, the House GOP caucus The Tennessean referenced comments made by the GOP leadership at their weekly news conference earlier Thursday, indicating that attention is focused on pressing ahead and preparing to pass the state budget.
“None of our members regret the decision to make the eviction decision, and we would do it again if that kind of behavior occurred on this floor,” Lamberth said. “In this particular room, every voice needs to be heard. People need to listen to each other, respond to each other, and follow the rules.”
Melissa Brown contributed.
Reach Vivian Jones at vjones@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Leaked Tennessee GOP caucus audio shows hot tempers following eviction
