Gov. Bill Lee addressing members of the Tennessee National Guard while on a trip to the Texas-Mexico border in July 2021. (Photo: tn.gov)
The Stump’s roving reporter owes an apology to Gov. Bill Lee — well, a tiny one anyway.
At the end of a Wednesday press conference, the reporter tried to ask one more question, or at least follow up on another reporter’s question about the potential for using the National Guard to round up immigrants. Lee tossed that guy a nice word salad, then refused to answer the second time, saying if he responded, he would have to start over again, which he couldn’t do because he was running late for another meeting.
To which the Stump reporter responded that he didn’t answer the other reporter’s question the first time, so why not give it another go? To no avail.
But on further review, Lee said everything we need to know.
First, he said his and President-elect Trump’s team spoke before the election, not about “specific” policies but to let them know Tennessee wants “input on policy.” He said they haven’t discussed the deportation of immigrants yet, but it is a key part of Trump’s campaign platform and a move that could require governors to deploy National Guard troops to remove up to 18 million people from the country. (That’s the number Trump has used.)
Second, the governor declined to say he wouldn’t mobilize the Guard for deportation. And, third, asked whether he would be open to it, he said, “The president will set his policies and determine what his strategies are going forward and then, obviously, we’ll work with him … to implement strategies that work for Tennessee.”
Trump readies for mass deportations with reported pick of Noem as Homeland Security chief
Sounds as if the governor is willing to do whatever Trump says.
Trump and the people he is picking for cabinet positions make no secret about planning to deport millions of immigrants, including people who were born here. The president-elect said recently it could be “bloody,” so we have to believe he is serious.
In addition, his supporters are practically demanding mass deportation. He won 65% of the vote in Tennessee over Vice President Kamala Harris, and Lee campaigned for Trump even though he called the governor a “RINO.”
Granted, nobody is going to cry if Venezuelan gang members are removed from the country, a matter to which the governor was alerted this week. But that’s a far cry from rounding up millions of people, herding them into camps and busing them out, a move that could affect American citizens and violate their constitutional rights.
If Trump follows through, and most of the time he does what he says, this is likely heading for disaster, especially if one state’s troops are ordered to go into another state, say California.
Those measly details will have to wait for another day. But in the meantime, prepare for the inquest.
Get the feds out of schools
Lee gets animated when he talks about the possibility of eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, which is also part of Trump’s plan.
“I believe that Tennessee would be more capable than the federal government of designing a strategy of spending federal dollars,” Lee told reporters this week.
The governor compares the matter to the state’s Medicaid waiver, through which the state has saved a billion dollars over four years and spends some of it to increase services. Never mind the fact Tennessee is forgoing about $1.4 billion annually to expand Medicaid to people caught in a coverage gap.
Some of that Medicaid money is being given to Tennessee’s flooded counties through no-interest loans to repair damaged roads and water and sewer systems. While Lee touts that plan, some lawmakers say Tennessee should be using the $2.15 billion rainy day to give money to those counties because it’ll take them years to recuperate.
Back on education, Lee says states are better at spending money than the federal government (and giving it away to corporate buddies). He didn’t really say that last part, but the state processed 41,400 business tax refunds totaling $865 million and spent another $9.2 million to offset tax liabilities, since the Legislature cut the property tax factor in Tennessee’s franchise and excise taxes. The whole shebang could cost up to $1.9 billion by the time it’s done.
OK, this time we’re really getting back to education. Asked if it’s fiscally responsible for the feds to hand out money to schools with no strings attached, especially since one of its main jobs is protecting special education students, Lee says the federal government didn’t get into education until 1979.
“We knew how to do it then as a state, and we know how to do it now as a state. We know even better now how it is we can take care of the unique challenges students have,” he said.
The governor brags about the state’s new funding formula and how it addresses students with dyslexia, those who speak English as a second language and children who are low-income or live in sparsely populated areas.
Yet Tennessee has a spotty record for protecting students’ civil rights, as evidenced by multiple lawsuits filed every year. The Tennessee Disability Coalition came out with a report giving the state a D in education.
Lee, though, says an appellate process for special education students and families would continue to exist if the federal department is abolished. But when he starts talking about this, he (naturally) morphs into the battle for private-school vouchers, saying the state should pay to send special education students to private schools if their parents “believe there’s a better private school option.”
This is where the debate lies. Get rid of the U.S. Department of Education and privatize. It’s been Lee’s mantra since he ran for office, so we shouldn’t expect it to change six years later.
Same old song
The Senate Republican Caucus recycled Lt. Gov. Randy McNally as Senate speaker in a Thursday vote, giving him two more years to run that august(?) body and plenty more time for minions to jockey for position. Eventually, he’s going to leave the Senate, maybe.
Technically, the full Senate will vote on McNally’s nomination when the Legislature convenes in January, but Democrats have only six of 33 votes.
McNally is generally considered a calming influence, even after he came under fire in 2023 for sending Instagram emojis to a young, gay man. That fell off the radar when a mass shooting took place at The Covenant School in Green Hills and the House took all the headlines with expulsion hearings for the “Tennessee Three.” Those combined with a confidence vote in his favor to put McNally in a political safe haven.
Holding on to other key seats were Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson of Franklin and Senate Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Yager of Kingston, who reminded me Thursday that jumping out of an airplane to raise awareness for prostate cancer was one of the greatest moments of his life.
I’m not sure I’m ready to follow.
Stranger than fiction
President-elect Trump named now-former Congressman Matt Gaetz as his attorney general this week, even though he’s been investigated for sex trafficking and sexual misconduct and was the focus of a House probe. An unflattering report was to be released this week, but he left Congress shortly before they could push it out, according to reports.
It’s hard to imagine a universe where it makes sense for someone who barely escaped sex trafficking charges himself to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, on the nomination of former U.S. Rep.Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General
Asked about the nomination Thursday, Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Franklin Republican, said he has “full faith and confidence in President Trump that he’s gonna fill out a cabinet of people he believes are capable of doing the job and executing his agenda. And I support whoever he thinks is best to fulfill that role.”
In contrast Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville said Gaetz is “dangerously if not clownishly unqualified” for the post.
“It’s hard to imagine a universe where it makes sense for someone who barely escaped sex trafficking charges himself to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Hell, that’d be true even if he had any meaningful legal, prosecutorial, or management experience, which he plainly doesn’t have,” Yarbro said via text.
Some U.S. senators are skeptical about Gaetz making it through their confirmation process. But is anyone willing to show some guts and buck the next president? Either way, Yarbro said the president-elect appears determined to humiliate them sooner or later.
Open the beer truck
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is ready to snoop on your urine, not by having you pee in a cup but by checking your sewage.
TBI Director David Rausch sought permission from Gov. Lee this week to start a $3 million pilot project to test the wastewater at Knoxville high schools and college dorms for illicit drugs. It’s part of a plan to let parents and the community know that kids are using something, whether opioids or marijuana.
It’s a good thing they didn’t run these tests at my junior high. First, all of the toilets were usually blocked with toilet paper, and, second, the testing equipment would’ve been clogged with resin.
Are kids smoking marijuana less than they did 45 years ago? Apparently not. I’m told by semi-reliable sources that taprooms and beer halls are struggling because young people like THC more than alcohol. What’s wrong with kids these days? About the same thing as in 1978. It must be easier to get weed than beer.
“And then one day you find ten years have got behind you / No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.” *
*”Time,” Pink Floyd