Tennessee Legislature Meets With Trump Playbook on its Agenda

A special session of the Tennessee General Assembly that began on Monday reflects the way President Trump’s aggressive conservative agenda is already emboldening Republicans to pursue his priorities at the state level.

Gov. Bill Lee has proposed new measures to toughen immigration enforcement, including the creation of a position in state government that would directly coordinate with the Trump administration’s enforcement policies.

And he has called on lawmakers to revisit his plans to expand the use of public funds for private schools across the state.

What happens next in Tennessee may signal the extent to which conservative-led states will carry out Mr. Trump’s broader policy agenda. Many states’ regular legislative sessions are just getting underway.

Republican supermajorities, particularly in the South, have spent years rallying behind a litany of conservative policies. The Biden administration often condemned their decisions or challenged them in court, but the Trump administration is far more likely to be on the same page with them.

“During the Biden administration, red state legislatures were frustrated with what they saw the Biden administration doing or not doing,” said David Shonerd, senior director of state operations at MultiState, a state and local government relations firm. “Now they have a willing and excited partner.”