“Legislative priorities aligned with Trump.” This was the headline on the front page of the Tennessean on April 24, referring to the Tennessee legislature’s first session of the 114th General Assembly. While these words accurately represent some of the work we accomplished, the reality is that many of the policies President Donald J. Trump is […]
“Legislative priorities aligned with Trump.”
This was the headline on the front page of the Tennessean on April 24, referring to the Tennessee legislature’s first session of the 114th General Assembly. While these words accurately represent some of the work we accomplished, the reality is that many of the policies President Donald J. Trump is enacting are already in place in our state.
Tennessee’s Republican supermajority this year passed legislation to improve public safety, crack down on illegal immigration and promote common sense in government.
These themes sound familiar because President Trump’s administration has begun implementing similar policies at the federal level. I’m confident the president’s second term will usher our nation into a Golden Age because, for the past decade, Tennessee Republicans have pushed similar policies that have made our state thrive.
A top Republican priority in recent years has been improving public safety in Tennessee. Whether it be Murfreesboro or Memphis, all residents deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities. This session, we passed legislation to combat threats of mass violence, enhanced penalties for vehicular homicide and approved a proposed constitutional amendment to deny bail for violent offenders. This proposal will now be on every Tennessean’s ballot to decide in the November 2026 election.
I was proud to pass legislation expanding our state’s anti-squatter laws to include commercial property in addition to residential. The squatting movement is an affront to the private property rights our founders so highly regarded, and Tennessee will not tolerate these illegal takeovers.
When it comes to combating illegal immigration, no state has done more to protect its citizens than Tennessee. Seven years ago, we banned sanctuary cities in the Volunteer State. We’ve worked to ensure no illegal alien receives public benefits, pushed back against federal refugee resettlement programs, enacted stronger penalties for illegal immigrant crime, and sent the National Guard to help secure the southern border.
Over the last few months, we have continued our efforts to demagnetize the Volunteer State from the catastrophe of illegal immigration. During January’s special session, we created an immigration enforcement division to assist the Trump administration in getting out the people who have illegally entered our nation. We also passed a bill to strengthen our sanctuary city ban to penalize local officials who recklessly disregard state law, in addition to creating the offense of human smuggling to help combat the heinous human trafficking crisis in the United States.
We have also led the fight to oppose absurd woke policies like allowing transgender treatments for minors and letting men invade women’s sports. In 2021, Tennessee became one of the first states in the nation to ban males from participating in female sports. President Trump recently signed an executive order doing the same, protecting women athletes across the nation.
This year, the Tennessee General Assembly continued to be a national leader in fighting for families, passing legislation to ensure children use bathrooms and facilities that correspond to their biological sex in residential educational programs.
Republicans in the legislature worked to further end discriminatory admission and hiring practices by dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in Tennessee. Like so many of our successes this session, this is something the president has tackled in his first few months in office.
And in our continuing efforts to provide all Tennessee children with the highest quality education, we passed legislation to ensure families in our state have the freedom to choose where their child goes to school through legislation supported by President Trump.
“Congratulations to Tennessee Legislators who are working hard to pass School Choice this week, which I totally support,” Trump posted in January. “We will very soon be sending Education BACK TO THE STATES, where it belongs.”
President Trump in March signed an executive order to make American elections more secure. Other states and the federal government should follow Tennessee’s lead because our efforts to ensure all law-abiding residents’ voices are heard at the ballot box have paid off. As chairman of the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee, I’m proud to say that we have been ranked No. 1 for election integrity three years in a row.
Reforming disaster response, legislating education on the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence, tackling the fentanyl crisis and improving government efficiency are just some of the additional priorities that both the Volunteer State and President Trump have championed this year.
Our state has proven that common-sense legislation, advocating for Tennesseans, and not backing down to the woke crowd is extremely effective. I welcome the change at the federal level, and I look forward to seeing the great successes our nation will have under an administration that is making America more like Tennessee.
State Rep. Tim Rudd of Murfreesboro represents House District 34, which includes part of Rutherford County.