Tennessee’s Elected Officials React to Thursday’s Presidential Debate

Biden and Trump

Tennessee’s elected officials reacted positively to former President Donald Trump’s debate performance against President Joe Biden on Thursday night. 

“There is no debate about it: President Trump was the clear winner tonight and the person we need to save our country,” said a statement from Sen. Marsha Blackburn. “Under President Biden, hardworking families can’t afford basic necessities, illegal immigrants are treated better than our nation’s veterans and criminals get off scot-free while the Justice Department unfairly targets conservatives.”

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces Bill to Reinstate Trump-Era Trade Sanctions Against China’s Institute of Forensic Science

Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would re-list the Ministry of Public Security’s (MPS) Institute of Forensic Science of China onto the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce.

In 2020, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on the Chinese MPS Institute of Forensic Science for its role in the surveillance and abuse of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province.

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Incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Trounces TN-5 Challenger Courtney Johnston in Straw Poll at Davidson County Republican Party’s Annual Picnic Event

Rep. Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) was the resounding victor among attendees at the Davidson County Republican Party’s annual picnic event on Saturday who participated in a straw poll weighing candidates running in the August 1 Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

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Reporter Peter D’Abrosca: TN-05 GOP Candidate Courtney Johnston’s Reluctance Talking to the Press Fuels Assumptions She Is a Left-of-Center Candidate

Pete and MPL

Peter D’Abrosca, reporter at The Tennessee Star, said Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston’s reluctance to speak with the press on various issues only leaves voters to assume that she is a left-of-center candidate running in the August 1 GOP primary race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Johnston is running in the August 1 primary against incumbent U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), who boasts a 100 percent rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard, the nation’s leading conservative scorecard.

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Tennessee Congressional Delegation Urges President Biden to Approve Governor Lee’s Disaster Declaration

Tennessee Tornado Damage

All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration due to severe storms that devastated communities across the Volunteer State last month.

On May 8 and May 9, several rounds of significant severe weather impacted 13 Tennessee counties, causing three fatalities and damage to 459 homes in Tennessee.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces the ‘No Juicing Joe Act’ Ahead of Trump v. Biden Debate

Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Thursday that would require the White House to notify Congress of each instance the president takes certain drugs relating to cognitive function.

Ogles’ “No Juicing Joe Act” would specifically require the White House to alert Congress when the president takes a drug that could alter his alertness, judgment, or mood.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Signs Letter Pushing Back on New Energy Mandates on Home Construction

Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), opposing the agencies’ recently adopted mandates for new home construction.

On May 28, the HUD and USDA’s “Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing” mandate went into effect, requiring all HUD and USDA-financed single-family homes to be constructed under the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Leads Tennessee Colleagues in Demanding Answers from DHS After Illegal Alien Assaults Woman at the Nashville Sundae Club

DHS Sec Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Marsha Blackburn

Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led a letter signed by eight other members of the Tennessee Congressional delegation to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers regarding the immigration status of a 23-year old illegal alien who allegedly followed a woman into a bathroom at the Nashville Sundae Club and groped her

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Several Nashville Business Leaders Ally Themselves with Andy Ogles Challenger Courtney Johnston

Bobby Joslin and Courtney Johnston

Several Nashville business leaders have publicly allied themselves with Nashville Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston, the Republican challenger to Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), since she announced her campaign in April.

Bobby Joslin, owner of Joslin and Son Sign Company, which has provided signs to many Nashville businesses, welcomed Johnston at an annual fish fry event on Thursday by gifting her a prominent sign, The Nashville Banner reported. Prominent Nashville and Tennessee political figures attended the event, including former Governor Bill Haslam, former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, and several current and former candidates for office representing both parties.

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Tennessee U.S. Reps. Andy Ogles and Diana Harshbarger Travel to New York to Support Former President Trump in Hush Money Trial

House Reps Courtroom Trump

Tennessee U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) were among 11 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who traveled to New York on Thursday to support former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial.

While speaking to reporters outside of the Manhattan courthouse, Harshbarger called the trial involving Trump “the persecution of a patriot,” saying, “We’re watching in real time the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice interfere in a case that should have never been brought in the first place.”

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Congressman Andy Ogles Among House Republicans Seeking to Prevent the Resettling of Palestinians into the U.S.

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is among a group of House Republicans requesting that a provision be included in the Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill to prohibit Palestinian refugees from being imported and resettled into U.S. communities.

Ogles, along with U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Scott Perry (R-PA-10), are specifically seeking a provision in the funding bill that “prohibits expenditures of any funds to issue a visa or grant parole to any alien holding a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.”

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Bureau of Prisons Denies Transfer of Unjustly Imprisoned J6 Defendant Stewart Parks to Minimum Security Camp

Stewart Parks Memphis

Unjustly convicted and imprisoned January 6 defendant Stewart Parks told The Tennessee Star on Monday that his request to transfer to the minimum security satellite camp at FCI Memphis was denied despite intervention by Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and his congressional colleagues.

Parks called Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Star, and were able to share a brief conversation Thursday morning before the phone system at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis automatically disconnected the call after just five minutes.

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Democrat Maryam Abolfazli Launches Bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District

Maryam Abolfazli

Maryam Abolfazli, founder of the nonprofit group Rise and Shine Tennessee, launched a bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on Wednesday.

“I refuse to sit back while our fundamental values and freedoms are under threat. That’s why I’m stepping up to put an end to the extremism that’s harming our state and country,” Abolfazli, a Democrat, wrote in a social media post announcing her campaign.

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Democrat Pro-Abortion Lawyer and Fundraiser Kim Kaegi Form ‘Lincoln Project of Tennessee’ Style Super PAC Ahead of ‘Moderate’ Courtney Johnston’s GOP Primary Challenge to MAGA Rep. Andy Ogles in TN-5

Courtney Johnston, Chloe Akers

A pro-abortion lawyer based in Knoxville has joined forces with Tennessee political fundraiser Kim Kaegi to form three strategically intertwined organizations – a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit, a political action committee (PAC), and a super PAC, a Wednesday report reveals.

The PACs and nonprofit will be called The Best of Tennessee, and the political wing of the operation will focus on “pro-choice” messaging to elect moderate candidates, according to The Tennessean.

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‘We Have Been Sold Out’: Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Slams Passage of Minibus Spending Bill

Andy Ogles Speaking

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) slammed the passage of a “minibus” $1.2 trillion spending bill on Friday that would fund six of the 12 appropriations divisions for Fiscal Year 2024.

Moments before the House passed the bill by a 286-134 vote, Ogles, along with other members of the Freedom Caucus, held a press conference where he said the American people had been “sold out.”

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U.S. Reps. Andy Ogles, Matt Gaetz, and Andy Biggs Send Letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Requesting J6 Prisoner Stewart Parks Be Transferred to Minimum Security Satellite Camp

Andy Ogles, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Stewart Parks

U.S. Representatives Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) have sent a letter to the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons requesting that unjustly imprisoned January 6 defendant Stewart Parks be moved to the minimum security satellite camp located at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis.

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Republican Liberty Caucus Endorses Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles for Reelection

Andy Ogles

The Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed U.S. Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN-05) reelection bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

“The Republican Liberty Caucus proudly endorses Andrew Ogles in TN-5,” the political organization wrote in an X post on Thursday. “[Ogles] has become one of the top defenders of liberty in the House. An unwavering voice for freedom and smaller government, he scored a 95 on our Liberty Index during his first year in Congress.”

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Tennessee Star Reporter Tom Pappert ‘Very Skeptical’ of Federal Bureau of Prisons Refusal to Move Unjustly Imprisoned J6 Defendant Stewart Parks to Minimum Security Camp Based on Original Security Classification

Tom Pappert, lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, said he is “very skeptical of the federal officials at the Bureau of Prisons” after an official with the bureau formally refused a written request by Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) to move unjustly imprisoned January 6 defendant Stewart Parks to the minimum security satellite camp located at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis.

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Coalition for Jewish Values Defends Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ ‘Death to Hamas’ Comment

Ogles Hamas

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) came to U.S. Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN-05) defense over comments he issued last month in response to an activist who pressed him on the situation unfolding in the Middle East, specifically between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

“Given that Rep. Ogles stated unequivocally that he was speaking about Hamas, a terror organization that has both declared and evidenced its intent to massacre all Jews, his is the only morally correct position,” CJV Midwestern Regional President Rabbi Ze’ev Smason said in a statement. “It is deplorable that organizations and even left-wing media outlets have deliberately falsified his words in order to malign and slander him.”

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Stands Firm on ‘Death to Hamas’ Comment, Says ‘These Terrorists Deserve to Die’

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is standing firm on comments he issued in response to an activist who pressed him on the situation unfolding in the Middle East between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

Footage shared on social media shows the activist pressing Ogles while walking through a corridor in the U.S. Capitol.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Sends Four Letters to the House Appropriations Committee

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent four letters to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday advocating for the defunding of “America-last directives” as the committee works on funding accounts for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2024.

In one letter to the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ogles requests that a provision be added to any upcoming spending legislation prohibiting President Joe Biden’s recent executive order granting Deferred Enforced Departure to Palestinians in the U.S. for 18 months.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Says J6 Defendant Stewart Parks’ Case ‘Should Trouble Everyone’

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) said he has received a response from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis in regards to his request for inmate Stewart Parks, who is serving his eight month sentence for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to be moved to the prison’s minimum security satellite camp.

On February 13, Ogles sent a letter to Warden F.J. Bowers of the FCI in Memphis requesting that Parks be moved to the satellite camp for the duration of his incarceration, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.

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Rep. Andy Ogles Urges Move of Unjustly Convicted J6 Defendant Stewart Parks to Minimum Security Camp of FCI Memphis, Cites Tennessee Star Report

Rep. Andy Ogles / Stewart Parks

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent a letter to the Warden F.J. Bowers of the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis on Tuesday which urged him to immediately transfer unjustly convicted J6 defendant Stewart Parks to the facility’s minimum security camp.

Ogles sent his letter following the Sunday report from The Tennessee Star that revealed Parks is not in the minimum security camp where he was originally expected to serve his sentence, and is instead in a part of the federal prison that houses gang members, murderers and child molesters.

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