Who will stay and who will go?
Historically, Tennessee governors have seen a mass exodus of cabinet officials and senior staffers heading into the final year of a second term. That has been a consistent pattern since the time Tennessee law changed to allow Governors a second four year term, beginning with Republican Governor Lamar Alexander, who served successive terms from 1979-1987. Alexander was succeeded by Democrat Governor Ned McWherter, who served two terms. McWherter was followed by Republican Don Sundquist and then Democrat Phil Bredesen, both of whom served two terms.
Republican Bill Lee is now entering the final year of his second four-year term, yet most of his cabinet officials show no signs of leaving. In fact, many are hiring new senior staff, ranging from assistant commissioners to directors and others. Some are reportedly reaching out to Senator Marsha Blackburn and Congressman John Rose, either directly or indirectly, to make their pitch to continue serving in the next Administration. Lee’s successor will almost certainly be a Republican, despite the flip-flop of parties over the last several decades. It appears his senior officials may be counting on that.
There are no indications as to how receptive either Blackburn or Rose would be to moving forward with a Lee 2.0 Cabinet. Presumably, both would prefer to assemble their own team to promote and achieve their policy and political agendas. However, the lack of exits by Lee’s inner circle does raise eyebrows.
The salaries of the Lees’ top Commissioners certainly make it understandable why they would want to retain their jobs. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt makes nearly $175,000 a year, for example. Several other commissioners earn about the same amount, while a few receive significantly more.
The controversial Tennessee Commissioner of Education, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, earns approximately $255,000 annually. It is highly unlikely that she would retain her position if Rose is elected Governor, since he has already expressed his desire to make a change in the state Department of Education.
However, neither Blackburn nor Rose have given any clear indications of which, if any, of Lee’s picks would be retained by them. Likewise, those moving into assistant commissioner and director positions in different agencies are not guaranteed to retain their political appointments following the November 2026 general election.
As the calendar flips to 2026, the exit ramp from the Lee Administration may pick up speed, but it will certainly be worth paying attention to who leaves and who seeks to survive an upcoming transition over the next few months.
Steve Gill is editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.
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