Commentary: Tennessee Republicans Will Work to Keep Communities and Schools Safe in 2022

School bus

Tennessee voters spoke loud and clear last November when they overwhelmingly elected Republicans to represent them at every level. I’m extremely proud that Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly have delivered on the promise to uphold conservative values, increase economic opportunities, improve public safety and strengthen education. We still have much work to do and we will continue to work to address these priorities during this upcoming legislative session. 

Our state budget is probably the most significant component of public policy our governor and General Assembly tackle each year. Unlike the federal government, Tennessee’s constitution requires us to balance our budget. The federal government’s debt has amassed to almost $30 trillion, something we should all be concerned about for future generations to come.

Our primary goal each year is always the same: to pass a balanced budget. From top to bottom, Tennessee’s $42.6 billion zero-debt budget is a spending plan that addresses the priorities and needs of all Tennesseans. 

Read the full story

Tennessee’s Republican Congressmen Urge House Speaker Pelosi to Hold China Accountable for COVID-19

Tennessee’s Republican U.S. representatives urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold China accountable for causing the COVID-19 pandemic. The representatives signed onto the four-page letter last Friday, along with 202 other Republican representatives.

Two Republicans – Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) and Virginia Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09) – didn’t sign onto the letter. The House Republican representatives that did sign onto the letter derided Pelosi for dismissing previous President Donald Trump’s speculation of China’s involvement in the COVID-19 outbreak last year. Sources say Pelosi hasn’t responded to the letter yet. 

Read the full story

Republicans Dominate the 2020 Tennessee Election Cycle

Tennessee’s elections were called for Republicans across the board not long after the polls closed on Tuesday night. The red state remained red, for the most part. One state-level seat flipped in Davidson County: a blue dot surrounded by red.

On the national scale, President Donald Trump won with an approximate 23 point lead over Democratic candidate Joe Biden. That lead is 3 points shy of his 2016 victory against Hillary Clinton. A total of just over 3 million votes were reported. Absentee votes favored Biden by just under one percent.

Read the full story

Republican Caucus Conference Call Reveals Divide Among Republican Legislators Over Casada’s Future as Speaker

  An emergency conference call hosted by House Speaker Glen Casada to address concerns among the 73 Republican caucus members over recent news stories involving Casada, his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren and claims that the legislative culture needs to be changed revealed fault lines in the caucus, according to several Members who were on the call. The call was conducted at 1 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 8. “The call lasted about 45 minutes and Glen spoke about the issues that have arisen since late last week before opening it up for Members to ask questions or share their thoughts,” one Republican legislator confidentially told The Tennessee Star. “About a dozen of the legislators spoke up, some in support of Glen and a handful of others expressing their view that he should step down as Speaker. At this point, barring some new and significant revelation of misbehavior by Glen, I think the Caucus will continue to stand with him.” Casada reportedly assured the Caucus that there is no other damaging information that will emerge. “There is nothing else to come out,” Casada said, according to those on the call. Republican legislators who have expressed the opinion that…

Read the full story