Role: Governor of Tennessee (since January 2019)
Category: State Governors / Republican Governors

Summary

Bill Lee is the Governor of Tennessee. He has emerged as one of the most significant redistricting actors of the 2025-2026 cycle, calling an extraordinary legislative session — at the direct request of President Trump — following the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais to eliminate Tennessee’s only Democratic congressional district, which was also its only majority-Black district. The new map was passed by the legislature on May 7, 2026 and signed by Lee, erasing Rep. Steve Cohen’s Memphis-based 9th district. Lee also signed Stephen Miller-drafted immigration bills into law, making Tennessee one of the nation’s most aggressive states in coordinating state immigration enforcement with the Trump administration.

Background

Born: October 9, 1959, Nashville, Tennessee
Education: Auburn University (B.S., Civil Engineering)
Career: Founder and CEO of Lee Company, a family-owned HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services business in Franklin, Tennessee; no prior political experience before running for governor in 2018

Elections:

• Elected governor 2018 (Republican primary upset of Beth Harwell; defeated Democrat Karl Dean)
• Re-elected 2022

Trump Alignment

Direct coordination on redistricting: On April 30, 2026 — the day after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais — President Trump posted on Truth Social: “I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.” Lee called a special legislative session within days of the call.

Stephen Miller immigration coordination: The Tennessean (April 2026) reported that Lee signed the first two bills in a package of nine immigration-focused bills “drafted by Republicans with input from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.” This represents direct White House scripting of state immigration legislation.

2025 omnibus immigration law: Lee signed Tennessee’s 2025 omnibus immigration law, which created $5 million in incentives for local law enforcement to partner with ICE and expanded the state’s immigration enforcement cooperation programs.

Immigration Enforcement

Stephen Miller-authored bills (April 2026): Lee signed two bills in a package of nine Miller-drafted measures targeting undocumented immigrants in Tennessee. The bills were part of a coordinated White House effort to draft model state immigration legislation and push it through Republican-controlled state legislatures.

2025 omnibus immigration law: Tennessee’s 2025 omnibus law created financial incentives — $5 million — for local law enforcement agencies to enter partnership agreements with ICE, aligning Tennessee’s local police with federal immigration enforcement priorities.

Nashville context: Nashville has a significant immigrant population. The immigration enforcement measures have been documented to create fear in immigrant communities, affecting public safety reporting as immigrants become reluctant to contact local law enforcement.

Redistricting

**Context: Louisiana v. Callais (April 29, 2026):** The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais significantly limited Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act’s ability to protect minority voting districts. The ruling opened the door for Republican-controlled states to dismantle majority-minority districts previously protected under the VRA.

Trump-Lee call (April 30, 2026): The day after Callais, Trump called Lee and posted publicly that Lee had “stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.” The “unconstitutional flaw” Trump was referring to was the existence of Rep. Steve Cohen’s majority-Black Memphis district — which Trump characterized as having been required by a law that the Court had now weakened.

Extraordinary session: Lee called an extraordinary legislative session — an exceptional use of gubernatorial power — specifically to redistrict congressional maps.

New map signed May 7, 2026: The Tennessee legislature passed the new map on May 7, 2026; Lee signed it. The map eliminated the 9th Congressional District as a majority-Black, Democratic-held seat — potentially erasing Rep. Steve Cohen’s Memphis district in the next election.

Cook Political Report: Described the new map as “Tennessee Republicans Eliminate Black-Majority” district.

Arnold Porter analysis (May 2026): “In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Tennessee Republicans passed a new congressional map which eliminates the state’s one Democratic district in Memphis.”

Impact: Tennessee previously had one Democratic congressional district — Cohen’s majority-Black 9th. The new map dismantles that district, potentially making Tennessee’s entire congressional delegation Republican.

TRC Relevance

Voting Rights Act dismantlement at state level: Tennessee’s redistricting is a direct, documented implementation of the Callais decision to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district that had been protected under the VRA. The sequence — Callais ruling, Trump-Lee call, extraordinary session, new maps — is a clear accountability record.

Direct White House scripting of state legislation: Stephen Miller’s direct authorship of Tennessee immigration bills represents an extraordinary level of White House control over state legislation. This pattern — the White House drafting model legislation and Republican governors enacting it — should be documented across all states where it occurred.

Steve Cohen’s seat: If Cohen loses re-election under the new map, the record should document that his defeat resulted from a deliberate gubernatorial act following a presidential call, not from a change in voter preferences.

For Trump Supporters: Questions Worth Considering

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court issued the Callais decision, weakening the VRA. On April 30, Trump posted publicly that he had called Lee and Lee had agreed to “work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.” Within days, Lee called an extraordinary legislative session — a significant use of gubernatorial power — specifically to redistrict. The Tennessee legislature passed the new map on May 7, 2026. The “unconstitutional flaw” was Rep. Steve Cohen’s majority-Black 9th Congressional District in Memphis. Cook Political Report described the result as “Tennessee Republicans Eliminate Black-Majority” district. Lee also signed immigration bills drafted directly by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

Here’s a question worth sitting with: Trump’s public post described Memphis’s majority-Black congressional district as an “unconstitutional flaw” — and Lee called a special session to eliminate it within days. The district had been Memphis’s vehicle for congressional representation since 1993. It was not eliminated because voters changed their preferences, and it was not eliminated because a court found it unconstitutional — it was eliminated because the Supreme Court weakened the VRA protection that had prevented its elimination, and a president characterized it as a flaw the day after that ruling. If the sequence is: (1) Supreme Court weakens minority voting protection, (2) President publicly orders governor to eliminate minority district, (3) Governor calls special session and signs the maps — what is the most accurate description of that sequence?

A second question: Lee signed immigration bills described by The Tennessean as “drafted by Republicans with input from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.” State legislatures are elected by state voters to represent state interests. When a state governor signs legislation drafted by a White House official — with White House drafting described publicly — whose interests is that legislation designed to serve, and whose democratic authorization does it carry?

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Investigative trail pointers (public records)

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Sources

• Ballotpedia (redistricting timeline): https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Tennessee_ahead_of_the_2026_elections
• Arnold Porter (May 2026 analysis): https://www.arnoldporter.com/-/media/files/perspectives/publications/2026/05/may-2026-capital-snapshotfull-deckfinalv22565922841.pdf
• Cook Political Report: https://www.cookpolitical.com/redistricting/2025-26-mid-decade-map
• The Tennessean (immigration bills): https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2026/04/21/lee-tennessee-immigration-bills-trump/89719436007/
• WKMS (immigration): https://www.wkms.org/government-politics/2026-04-24/tennessee-brings-trumps-immigration-policy-to-the-states-heres-whats-new
• 2025-2026 redistricting Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%932026_United_States_redistricting