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National

A trio of Tennessee Democrats who were subject to expulsion votes over a gun reform protest has captured national attention as observers grapple with the potential impact amid roiling debates over the gun issue. 

Driving the news: A Republican-led effort to expel the state lawmakers —  dubbed the "Tennessee three" — succeeded in ousting two members of the group, Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.

An effort to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson failed by a single vote.

The lawmakers' protest came in the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead.

The big picture: Allegations of racism have swirled following the vote, given that both Jones and Pearson are Black while Johnson is white.

The effort could also have a greater rippling effect on state legislatures across the country, with experts warning it could further embolden majority party lawmakers to punish minority party members with divergent political positions.

Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville gestures during a vote on his expulsion from the state legislature at the State Capitol Building on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo:  Seth Herald/Getty Images

At 27 years old, Jones was one of the youngest members of the state House prior to his expulsion. The community-organizer-turned-lawmaker was elected last year to represent parts of Nashville.

Jones has Black and Filipino heritage, was born in Oakland, California, and graduated from Fisk University in Nashville. He has been working towards a master of theological studies at Vanderbilt University, according to his campaign website.

State of play: “We called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy," Jones told lawmakers during the debate to expel him, CNN reported.

His absence from the state House could be brief, with a special Metro Council meeting set for next Monday on filling his seat. The expelled members can run again for their old offices.

"I'm hopeful because I saw thousands of people — and in fact people across this nation, I would say, millions — who are paying attention to what happened and are challenging it, saying that it was wrong," Jones told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday.

Democratic state Reps. Justin Pearson (C) of Memphis and Justin Jones (R) of Nashville attend the vote in which they were expelled from the state Legislature on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Seth Herald/Getty Images

Pearson, 28, won his seat in a landslide earlier this year to represent parts of Memphis.

A Memphis native, Pearson is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he majored in government and legal studies and education studies, according to his campaign website.

He has worked as a community organizer focusing on environmental and social justice. 

He founded and co-founded organizations such as the Memphis Community Against Pollution and the Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, respectively, to oppose a proposed crude oil pipeline project that could have affected the city's drinking water, per his website.

State of play: Pearson, who was expelled in a 69-26 vote, has spoken openly about the way his life has been impacted by gun violence.

The fight for gun reform “is personal when you lose your friends, when you lose loved ones," he told the New York Times.

Pearson told ABC News' "Start Here" podcast that he recently lost a classmate to gun violence.

"We will not stop. We will not give up! We will continue working to build a nation that includes, not excludes, or unjustly expels," Pearson tweeted Friday.

Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville speaks after a vote to expel Justin Jones of Nashville from the governing body on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Seth Herald/Getty Images

Johnson, 60, is a former teacher who was elected to the state House in 2012. After losing the 2014 race as an incumbent and a repeat contest in 2016, she returned to office in 2018 and represents parts of Knoxville.

Born in Colorado, Johnson's family moved around during her childhood before settling in Knoxville when she was in the seventh grade. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a degree in education, per her website.

Johnson has taught at both the elementary and high school levels. She previously worked as a field organizer for former President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and served as the Knox County Democratic Party Chairwoman.

During her 27 years as a teacher, the issue of gun violence and school shootings felt personal, per interviews she's given. She spoken about being a teacher at Knoxville's Central High School during a shooting in 2008 that left one person dead.

Johnson told the New York Times that she recalled “the terror on the kids’ faces as they were running down that hill into my classroom.”

"As someone who worked in a classroom where we lost one of our students, you never forget the faces, the people, the children, and the traumatic experience. And we do not want that to happen to another child and another school," Johnson told ABC News.

Meet the "Tennessee Three" at the center of a statehouse drama over gun reform

Two of the lawmakers were booted from office Thursday.

Justin Pearson of Memphis acknowledges supporters after being expelled from the state Legislature on April 6

Justin Pearson acknowledges supporters after being expelled from the state Legislature on April 6. Photo: Seth Herald/Getty Images

Tennessee

Politics & Policy

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday acknowledged allegations that he had failed to properly disclose luxury trips he had received from an influential GOP donor, saying in a statement that he has "always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines."

Driving the news:  An explosive ProPublica investigation alleged that over the span over more than two decades, Thomas accepted lavish vacations paid for by a major Republican donor virtually every year.

Ethics law experts told the publication that Thomas had likely violated disclosure rules that require him to report travel on Dallas real estate magnate Harlan Crow's private jet and yacht, and possibly even his stays at Crow's resort in the Adirondacks.

In a statement to ProPublica, Crow argued that he and his wife's "hospitality" towards Thomas and his wife was no different from the hospitality they showed other friends, and that they had never tried to influence Thomas on "any legal or political issue."

State of play: Thomas echoed this sentiment in his own statement, saying the two couples had been friends for 25 years and "as friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips."

Thomas noted that he believed he'd done nothing wrong based on guidance he received "early in my tenure." 

He said he was told that "this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable." 

"These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future," Thomas said. 

The big picture: Last month the Judicial Conference of the United States adopted tighter financial disclosure rules for federal judges and U.S. Supreme Court justices, including requiring them to report when they are gifted stays at commercial properties and travel on private jets, per the Washington Post.

Zoom out: The revelations about Thomas' close ties to Crow sparked a flurry of angry reactions from some Democrats.

They also coincide with a push among Senate Democrats to require the Supreme Court to adopt a formal code of ethics.

Thomas breaks silence as criticism swirls over lavish donor-funded trips

Thomas said he would follow new disclosure guidance in the future.

Clarence Thomas in October, 2022. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Supreme Court

Israel focused its overnight strikes in Gaza and Lebanon on Hamas targets in an effort to avoid a wider conflict with Hezbollah, two Israeli defense officials said.

Driving the news: In discussing their response to a barrage of rockets launched from Lebanon on Thursday, Israeli ministers concluded that Israel didn't have any interest in getting dragged into a war in Lebanon that would risk turning into a regional conflict, the Israeli officials said.

The domestic unrest in Israel over the government's judicial overhaul plan destabilized the country's economy, military and international standing.

Catch up quick: Dozens of rockets were fired toward Israel from Lebanon Thursday afternoon in the most serious escalation between the two countries since the 2006 war.

The rocket fire came after a violent raid by Israeli police in Jerusalem's Haram al-Sharif compound, also known as the Temple Mount, late Tuesday after Muslim worshippers had barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Blaming Hamas for rocket fire from Lebanon, Israel retaliated with strikes against tunnels and weapons manufacturing sites in Gaza that the IDF said were used by the armed group. Palestinian militants in Gaza then launched dozens of rockets overnight.

Israel also launched rare strikes against Hamas targets in southern Lebanon.

Hamas did not claim the rocket fire from Lebanon but said it holds Israel "fully responsible for the grave escalation and the flagrant aggression against the Gaza Strip and for the consequences that will bring onto the region.”

State of play: Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Gaza were quiet on Friday morning local time.

The IDF lifted all restrictions on the movements of civilians in the towns and cities near the border with both Gaza and Lebanon — a key sign that the situation had calmed down.

Still, the IDF said in a statement it had called in some reserve forces, mainly from air defense and air force units. 

Behind the scenes: In the consultation held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ahead of a security cabinet meeting Thursday, the IDF and Mossad presented different assessments on what Hezbollah’s response would be to Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, a defense official said. 

Mossad chief David Barnea argued Hezbollah would likely respond to any Israeli airstrike and therefore Israel should strike the organization in addition to Hamas and Lebanese targets, according to the defense official. 

But IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi said the Israeli interest was to keep Hezbollah out of the equation and, to do that, Israel's response should stay focused on Hamas, the official said. 

Halevi's position ultimately prevailed as the recommendation to take at the security cabinet meeting, the official added. 

Between the lines: After the initial rocket fire from Lebanon on Thursday, Hezbollah passed messages to Israel through several international mediators that it wasn’t part of the attack and didn’t know about it in advance, according to one Israeli defense official.

The defense official said that Israeli military intelligence assessments tended to accept Hezbollah’s claim as factual.

The Mossad and the IDF declined to comment.

During the Israeli security cabinet meeting later Thursday, one of the main issues discussed was what the scope of the Israeli response should be in Lebanon, Israeli officials said. 

A defense official said that the security chiefs told the ministers that a wider response against Hezbollah would likely result in the organization launching precision missiles toward Israeli cities, which could escalate into a war.

All the ministers voted in favor of the IDF's recommendation to focus the response against Hamas, two defense officials said.

A key goal of the response was to avoid a violent clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon and to keep Hamas fronts in both places from uniting, according to two Israeli officials. "This goal has been achieved so far," one of the officials told Axios.

The big picture: Hezbollah officials appeared to downplay the Israeli air strikes and refrained from escalating the rhetoric. A Hezbollah lawmaker who was asked about the issue on the organization’s radio station on Friday morning replied: "No comment."

Lebanese commentator Ibrahim al-Amin, who is close to Hezbollah’s leadership, wrote this morning in Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is affiliated with the organization, that if Israel assassinates Hamas leaders in Lebanon or threatens the security of the people in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah would react.

But he stressed that “local attacks” by Israel in Lebanon are meaningless and will not necessarily prompt a Hezbollah response.

Inside Israel's decision not to target Hezbollah in striking Lebanon

The Israeli military focused on Hamas targets in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid a wider conflict with Hezbollah, officials said.

Israeli soldiers deploy in an open area near the border with Lebanon. 

Israeli soldiers deploy in an open area near the border with Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

Hamas

Israel

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Macro

Axios Macro

Data: Department of Labor; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. labor market continues to add jobs at a strong pace: Payrolls rose by 236,000 in March, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%, the lowest level in over a half-century, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Why it matters: Employers still have plenty of demand for workers, despite aggressive efforts from the Federal Reserve to cool off the economy.

The payroll gains are roughly in line with what economists expected. 

The March gains are strong, but there are signs of a gradually cooling hiring trend. According to revisions from the Labor Department, the economy added 472,000 jobs in January and 326,000 payrolls in February.

The big picture: Economists are closely watching the March jobs report to confirm whether the economy continued to pick up steam.

To help put a lid on inflation, Fed officials have said they want to see demand for workers more in balance with the supply.

It's among the first major economic releases for March, when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed and sparked fears about the financial system's health. Surveys used to compile the jobs data, however, were conducted in mid-March, while those events were still unfolding.

By the numbers: Average hourly earnings — a measure of wage growth — rose 0.3%. Over the year through March, hourly earnings are up 4.2%.

Meanwhile, the share of people employed or searching for jobs — known as the labor force participation rate — rose to 62.6% (a tick higher than the 62.5% in February). 

U.S. economy adds 236,000 jobs in March as labor market stays strong

The numbers were roughly in line with what economists expected.

Jobs report

Jobs

Federal Reserve

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Data: Instacart; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Sales of matzo wildly peaked last year — unsurprisingly — at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover, according to data from Instacart.

Zoom in: Observers eat matzo, an unleavened bread, to mark the exodus of ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.

There are noticeable bumps later in the year during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and Chanukah.

Axios

Friday's top stories

Meet the "Tennessee Three" at the center of a statehouse drama over gun reform

Thomas breaks silence as criticism swirls over lavish donor-funded trips

Inside Israel's decision not to target Hezbollah in striking Lebanon

U.S. economy adds 236,000 jobs in March as labor market stays strong

Charted: Peak matzo on Passover

Market malaise weighs on state finances

The GOP's epic losing streak

Sal Khan explains why GPT-4 is ready to be a tutor

How Tennessee GOP expelling 2 Democrats could have ripple effect in other states

Cities are in a love-hate relationship with pickleball

Israel strikes Gaza and Lebanon after rocket fire

Finish Line: Be an AI realist