President Joe Biden hosted a group of Tennessee state lawmakers at the White House as the nation continues to grapple with a string of high-profile, high-casualty shootings.
Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, the “Tennessee Three,” gained national notoriety after leading anti-gun violence protests in response to the Covenant School shooting on the floor of the state House in April. Jones and Pearson, who are both black, were voted out of office by Republican legislators before being reinstated by the local government. Johnson, who is white, avoided being ousted by just one vote.
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On Monday, the president called Republicans’ attempts to remove the lawmakers from their positions “shocking” and “undemocratic” and thanked them for “standing up for our kids.”
Biden spoke to the three lawmakers following the votes to oust, and White House officials say Monday would focus on discussing ways for Democrats to advance additional gun reform in the face of staunch opposition from Republicans.
The president successfully moved Congress last year to pass the first bipartisan gun reform bill in decades, though the bill lacked a number of key asks from the White House, including reinstating a 1994 ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. He vowed Monday to continue pressing for a new ban and reiterated, “There’s more to do.”
Monday’s meeting also comes as Biden seeks to ease liberal anger on a number of issues, including gun violence reduction, yet the Republican majority in the House makes it extremely unlikely that Biden is able to notch another gun violence win before the next election.
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Biden is expected to announce his 2024 reelection campaign on Tuesday, the four-year anniversary of his 2020 announcement, in a video.
Pressed Monday on when exactly the announcement will be made, the president told reporters to “stay tuned.”
