Here’s who has been vaccinated among the TN congressional delegation
Both of Tennessee’s U.S. senators have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the state’s nine House members are more divided.
According to reporting by States Newsroom and the Chattanooga Times Free Press, four House members from Tennessee have gotten the shot: Democrats Steve Cohen of Memphis and Jim Cooper of Nashville, and Republicans Scott DesJarlais of Winchester and David Kustoff of Memphis.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Chattanooga) is holding off for the moment.
“Because I was diagnosed with COVID-19 in January, I am waiting to be vaccinated until those who are at a greater risk for the virus are able to be vaccinated first,” he told the Times Free Press. “I continue to strongly urge all Americans to get vaccinated.”
The four remaining Tennessee members, all Republicans, did not respond to the survey or newspaper: Tim Burchett of Knoxville, Mark Green of Ashland City, Diana Harshbarger of Kingsport, and John Rose of Cookeville.
U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Brentwood) and Bill Hagerty (R-Nashville) responded they had already been innoculated.
Current, former Chattanooga congressmen make competing U.S. Senate endorsements
A Chattanooga congressman and his predecessor are making competing endorsements in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Former Rep. Zach Wamp is giving the nod to Vanderbilt surgeon Manny Sethi, while current Rep. Chuck Fleischmann is getting behind Bill Hagerty.
Wamp joined fellow former Rep. Ed Bryant (R-Jackson) in endorsing Sethi:
“Dr. Manny is the real deal, the real conservative, and the right choice for Tennessee. He shares our Tennessee values: faith, family, and freedom.” – Zach Wamp pic.twitter.com/q5aPX5X5ZS
— Dr. Manny For Senate (@DrMannySenate) June 24, 2020
Fleischmann won the 3rd Congressional District seat when Wamp gave it up to run for governor in 2010. Wamp had first been elected to the seat in 1994.
I’m proud to join President @realDonaldTrump in support of my good friend @BillHagertyTN for U.S. Senate. Bill is the trustworthy conservative businessman we need in the Senate to help get our economy going again & get Tennesseans back to work.https://t.co/DJKF8MvNrG
— Chuck Fleischmann (@chuck4congress) June 24, 2020
Wamp endorsed Bill Lee in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, giving a boost to the Franklin businessman’s campaing. There was a personal backstory to that endorsement, as political operative Chip Saltsman was advising rival Republican Randy Boyd’s campaign. Saltsman had also run Fleischmann’s successful campaigns against Weston Wamp, the congressman’s son, in 2012 and 2014.
Contract signed for work on unfinished TVA nuke plant being sold to developer; $5B in fed loan guarantees sought
Veteran Chattanooga developer Franklin L. Haney has contracted with a Canadian engineering company to handle much of the work needed to open at least one of the two reactors at the unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant that Haney is buying from TVA, reports the Times Free Press. And he’s seeking a $5 billion in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance the work — with support of U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.
House votes to return 76 acres of TN land to Cherokees
Press release from Rep. Chuck Fleischmann
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03) issued the following statement upon his bill H.R. 146, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act, being voted out of The U.S. House of Representatives:
“Tonight, the House voted to keep a promise to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians by rightfully returning 76 acres of sacred land in Monroe County, putting the land back in tribal hands,” said Congressman Fleischmann.
Fleischmann slightly injured in train wreck; Kustoff and Roe aboard but unharmed
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann was slightly injured Wednesday when a train carrying Republican congressmen to an event in West Virginia hit a garbage truck. Two other Tennessee Republican congressmen—Reps. David Kustoff and Phil Roe – were aboard but not injured in the mishap.
Bill pending in Congress would return 76 acres of TN land to Cherokees
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann says he expects a House floor vote “very soon” on legislation that would effectively make 76 acres of land in Monroe County a part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reservation, reports the Times Free Press.
The property includes land that is currently home to the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore and tracts once part of two major Cherokee towns that were tribal centers before the forced removal of Cherokees to Oklahoma 180 years ago. Much of the Cherokee homeland in the area was covered with water when the 129-foot-high Tellico Dam became operational in 1979.
Fleischmann slightly injured fleeing ‘horrible’ shooting at congressional baseball practice
Tennessee’s Rep. Chuck Fleischmann was present when a gunman began shooting at a baseball practice session for congressmen today that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise wounded, according to multiple media accounts. The third district congressman was slightly hurt while running to take cover from the gunman.
The Ooltewah Republican was shaken, but not hit.
“It’s just a madhouse here,” he said during a phone call from the scene. “It’s horrible. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Politico lists Corker, Fleischmann as having potential conflicts in stock trades
Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, both Chattanooga Republicans, are highlighted by Politico in a listing congressmen whose stock trading raises a question of conflicting interests with their lawmaking activity.
The article, bearing the headline “Reckless stock trading leaves Congress rife with conflicts,” reports that Political found “28 House members and six senators each traded more than 100 stocks in the past two years, placing them in the potential cross hairs of a conflict of interest on a regular basis. And a handful of lawmakers, some of them frequent traders and some not, disproportionately trade in companies that also have an interest in their work on Capitol Hill.”
Here are excerpts from the report on Corker and Fleischmann:
