AUSTIN, TX — As first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, 54 members of the Texas House of Representatives signed a letter Thursday standing with the Tennessee House Democratic caucus after Tennessee Republicans stripped Democratic lawmakers of committee assignments in retaliation for their protest against a newly-approved congressional map that carves up Black political power in Memphis.
The letter, addressed to Tennessee’s House Democratic leaders Karen D. Camper and John Ray Clemmons, condemns the “blatant discrimination” and “discriminatory abuse of power” by Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton. The letter was led by Texas House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Rep. Mihaela Plesa and signed by 54 Democratic members of the House of Representatives.
“Texas Democrats know this pattern because we’ve lived it. When lawmakers use every available tool to defend voting rights, the response is often punishment dressed up as procedure,” Vice Chair Plesa told the Statesman. “Committee assignments are how legislators ask questions publicly, how they can amend legislation, how they can advocate for their district. So, we’re removing those lawmakers over political disagreement. That’s a serious concern.”
Tennessee Republican lawmakers approved a new congressional map last week that dismantled a Black-majority congressional district. After Democratic lawmakers and activists protested the map, the Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democratic members from House standing committees and subcommittees, citing floor disruptions including linking arms in the well of the House. Texas House Democrats faced similar retaliation after using every available tool to fight Donald Trump and Texas Republicans’ racist mid-decade gerrymander last year. More than 50 Texas House Democrats were fined thousands for breaking quorum to block the map, and legal challenges remain pending.
In the letter, which the caucus sent Thursday afternoon, Texas House Democrats wrote that Tennesee Republicans are trying to “fracture Black political power, and then punish the elected officials who had the courage to say so out loud”.
Read the full letter HERE.
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