Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, has been selected to serve as chair of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security for the 118th Congress, the Nashville Post reports. Green said in a release that the committee’s “top priority” was “ending the border crisis [President Joe] Biden created.” Green beat out Democratic challenger Odessa Kelly in November to represent the newly redistricted 7th Congressional District, which now includes parts of Nashville.

The 2023 TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program kicked off last week with an opening retreat at Henry Horton State Park. Class members came together on Thursday to start the three-day event, which featured a lineup of distinguished lawyers and judges who spoke with the class on a variety of leadership-related topics. Speakers included Byron Trauger, Houston Gordon, Dean William Koch, Randy Kinnard and a judicial panel with Chancellor Kasey Culbreath, Judges Alex McVeagh, Danielle Mitchell Sims, Joel Wallace, Juvenile Court Administrator Jennifer Wade and moderator Judge Jeffrey Usman. Emily Heird of Vantage View Coaching wrapped up the event on Saturday with a session on becoming the CEO of your own life. The class will meet again next month when it will explore “Issues in Policy & Politics” in Nashville.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis has announced it will debut a new photography exhibit, hold a blood drive and take up food donations in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the Associated Press reports. Among the museum’s planned events is the launch of “Tarred Healing,” a photographic exhibition by Black photographer Cornell Watson. Musical performances, magic shows, craft activities and other events are also planned. Those who donate blood will receive express entry into the museum on King Day and will receive additional free admission for up to four people on any day in 2023. Visitors also are encouraged to bring items for the annual Mid-South Food Bank food drive. Read more about the celebration on the Civil Rights Museum’s website.

Chancellor Jeffery Atherton yesterday set March 6 as the next court date for the legal dispute between Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp and County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, the Chattanoogan reports. Wamp attempted to remove Taylor from his position on October, but Taylor refused to step down. Legal costs over the dispute were put at $71,000 thus far. Wamp declined to withdraw his termination letter, saying an important legal question on the role of the county attorney needs to be clarified. He also has been critical of Taylor. The County Commission has stood behind Taylor and last week voted to cut off pay to Wamp's attorney, Barret Albritton, who has gotten $24,500 of county funds thus far.

Law Tech ’23 will return live and in-person this year, featuring opportunities to network with sponsors, attendees and speakers as well as various opportunities to win prizes! Specific topics, list of sponsors and tech prizes are coming soon. Until then, mark your calendars for March 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST in Nashville. Learn more here.  

The TBA Book Club will hold its second discussion event this week on Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. CST via Zoom. Members chose Jodi Picoult’s “Small Great Things” as the group’s second quarter book selection. The novel focuses on a Black labor and delivery nurse who is assigned to a child of white supremacists. The TBA will welcome author, poet and African American literature and cultural history expert Darius Stewart to the meeting as a special guest to provide context and insight into the book. Former TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson will lead the discussion. Register for the event.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold three clinics next week. On Tuesday, the group will hold a phone clinic from 4-5 p.m. On Thursday, a clinic at Greenhouse Ministries in Murfreesboro will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, a veterans clinic will be held from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in Nashville. All times central. To volunteer for these clinics, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all January clinics.

The U.S. House failed to elect a Speaker today after no candidate received a majority vote on three ballots, The Hill reports. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, who was elected House Minority Leader in 2019, failed to secure the 218 votes needed to win on all three ballots. The failed votes were expected by much of the conference following internal opposition of McCarthy from a small group of GOP members. The House adjourned following the third vote. It marks the first time in a century that the House has gone to multiple ballots for Speaker. In 1923, the Speaker election took nine ballots over three days.

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Frank Strada of Arizona as the new Tennessee Department of Correction commissioner, the Tennessean reports. Strada currently serves as the deputy director for Arizona Department of Corrections, where he oversees prison operations, inmate programs, public affairs, facilities management and financial services. He is an Air Force veteran with 34 years of corrections management and law enforcement experience. Lee promised he would take decisive actions, including a TDOC leadership change, after a third-party report found the state failed to follow its own death penalty protocols. Strada, who will succeed Interim Commissioner Lisa Helton, is set to begin on Jan. 9.

Greene County lawyer Robert H. Bailey passed away on Dec. 26. He was 95. Bailey graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1955 and following admission to the bar became legal counsel with U.S.F. & Company at the Bennett-Edwards Insurance Agency in Kingsport. He later entered private practice in Kingsport before opening a law office in his home community of Baileyton, where he handled selective legal matters, also managing real estate properties and devoting considerable time to various organizations and charities. Bailey was heavily involved in local civic organizations and in 1962 was elected as president of the Tusculum College Alumni Association, where he was later honored with an Honorary Doctor of Laws, the Distinguished Service Award and was made a Life Trustee of the college. A memorial service will be held on Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. EST at First Church of God in Greeneville.