Most Talked-About Controversies Linked to Marsha Blackburn

A closer look at the most debated and controversial moments involving Marsha Blackburn.

Marsha Blackburn is an American politician and businesswoman currently serving as a senior United States Senator for Tennessee, elected in 2018. As a member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a Tennessee State Senator from 1999 to 2003. From 2003 to 2019, Blackburn represented Tennessee's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has been noted as being among the most conservative members of the House during her tenure.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

1964: Argued Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation

In August 2019, Marsha Blackburn co-signed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity.

2004: Voted for Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage

In 2004, Marsha Blackburn voted for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

2006: Voted for Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage

In 2006, Marsha Blackburn voted for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

2009: Sponsored Birth Certificate Legislation

In 2009, Blackburn sponsored legislation requiring presidential candidates to show their birth certificates in response to "birther" conspiracy theories about Barack Obama.

2009: Voted Against Fair Pay Acts

In 2009, Marsha Blackburn voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

2010: Vote Against Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy

In 2010, Marsha Blackburn voted against repealing the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

October 2013: Criticism of Healthcare.gov Website

In October 2013, during congressional hearings on the ACA, Marsha Blackburn stated that the website healthcare.gov violated HIPAA and health information privacy rights.

2013: Vote on Violence Against Women Act

In 2013, Marsha Blackburn voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act in the House, but voted against the Senate's version of the act, which expanded VAWA to apply to people regardless of sexual orientation. She expressed concerns about diluting funding for women's shelters.

July 2014: Conference Call on DEA Legislation

In July 2014, Joe Rannazzisi claimed he told congressional staffers including Marsha Blackburn's staffers that the bill to revise legal standards for the DEA to suspend opioid shipments would cause more difficulties for the DEA if it pursued corporations that were illegally distributing such drugs.

2014: Rejected Climate Change Consensus

In 2014, during a debate with science communicator Bill Nye, Blackburn rejected the scientific consensus on climate change, claiming there is "no consensus" about its causes.

August 2015: Removal of Joe Rannazzisi from DEA position

In August 2015, Joe Rannazzisi said he was removed from his DEA position.

2015: Led Panel Investigating Planned Parenthood

In 2015, Blackburn led a panel that investigated the Planned Parenthood undercover video controversy, in which anti-abortion activists published a video purporting to show that Planned Parenthood illicitly sold fetal tissue. In 2015, Blackburn claimed that 94% of Planned Parenthood's business revolves around abortion services, which FactCheck.org found to be misleading.

2015: Response to Obergefell v. Hodges Decision

In 2015, regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Marsha Blackburn stated, "Despite this decision, no one can overrule the truth about what marriage actually is—a sacred institution between a man and a woman."

March 2016: Chaired Select Investigative Panel

In March 2016, Blackburn chaired the Republican-led Select Investigative Panel, a committee convened to "explore the ethical implications of using fetal tissue in biomedical research". Democrats on the panel characterized the probe as a politically motivated witch hunt.

October 2016: FCC Adopts Obama-administration Online Privacy Rule

In October 2016, the FCC adopted an Obama-administration online privacy rule that Marsha Blackburn would later introduce measures to dismantle.

2016: Co-sponsored DEA legislation

In 2016, Marsha Blackburn co-sponsored legislation that revised the legal standard the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had used to establish that "a significant and present risk of death or serious bodily harm that is more likely than not to occur," rather than the previous tougher standard of "imminent danger," before suspending the manufacturer's opioid drug shipments.

March 2017: House Passage of Measure to Dismantle Online Privacy Rule

In March 2017, Marsha Blackburn's measure to dismantle an Obama-administration online privacy rule passed the House in a party-line vote, after a similar measure passed the Senate the same week. The rule required broadband providers to obtain consumers' permission before sharing their online data.

2017: Legislation on DEA Enforcement Criticized

According to The New York Times in 2017, Blackburn's best-known legislation was her co-sponsorship of a bill that revised the legal standard the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had used to establish that "a significant and present risk of death or serious bodily harm that is more likely than not to occur," rather than the previous tougher standard of "imminent danger," before suspending the manufacturer's opioid drug shipments.

2017: Support for Trump's Travel Ban

In 2017, Marsha Blackburn supported Trump's executive order imposing a temporary travel and immigration ban barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

2017: Controversial Senate Ad

In 2017, when Blackburn announced that she was running for Senate, she ran a controversial advertisement saying that she "fought Planned Parenthood and we stopped the sale of baby body parts".

2017: Arguments for Repeal of the Affordable Care Act

In 2017, while arguing for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), Marsha Blackburn falsely said that two of its popular provisions (protections for people with preexisting conditions and allowing adult children to be on their parents' health plans until they're 26) "were two Republican provisions which made it into the bill."

June 2018: Op-Ed on Tech Companies

In June 2018, Marsha Blackburn published an op-ed arguing for greater oversight and restrictions on tech companies, sparking a backlash among Google employees.

November 7, 2018: Response to Thousand Oaks Shooting

On November 7, 2018, following the Thousand Oaks shooting, Marsha Blackburn responded to a question about the shooting in a Fox News interview by emphasizing the importance of protecting the Second Amendment and addressing mental health issues.

August 2019: Co-signed Amicus Brief on Title VII

November 2019: #MoscowMarcia Trending on Twitter

In November 2019, the hashtag #MoscowMarcia began trending on Twitter after Marsha Blackburn tweeted allegations against Alexander Vindman, accusing him of being unpatriotic. Her tweet was characterized by The Week as a "conspiratorial smear."

December 2020: Controversial Tweet About China

In December 2020, Blackburn posted a controversial tweet about China, leading to a heated exchange with a Chinese official and protests from the Tennessee Chinese American Alliance.

2020: Claim of Tech Companies stifling free speech

During a 2020 Commerce Committee hearing in which she claimed that tech companies stifle free speech, Marsha Blackburn asked Google chief Sundar Pichai about the employment status of an employee who had criticized her.

2020: Supported Trump's False Claims of Victory

In 2020, after Biden won the presidential election, Marsha Blackburn supported Trump's false claims of victory and raised funds to support the Trump campaign's effort to overturn the election results in court.

January 2, 2021: Opposed Certification of Election Results

On January 2, 2021, Marsha Blackburn and 10 other Republican senators announced that they would vote to oppose certification of the results of the election on January 6, citing false allegations of widespread election fraud, irregularities, and unconstitutional changes to voting laws and voting restrictions.

March 2021: Visit to Southern Border and Criticism of Biden

In March 2021, Marsha Blackburn visited the southern border of the United States with several other Republican senators; she accused President Biden of encouraging a surge of illegal immigration.

2021: Criticism of Biden's Universal Pre-K Proposal

In 2021, when President Biden proposed universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds and subsidized child care for low- and middle-income families, Marsha Blackburn likened the proposal to the communist policies of the Soviet Union and falsely claimed that the Biden administration proposed to put children in pre-K even if their parents did not want to send them there.

March 2022: Called Griswold v. Connecticut Constitutionally Unsound

In March 2022, Blackburn called Griswold v. Connecticut, which protects the right to contraception, "constitutionally unsound."

March 22, 2022: Questioning of Ketanji Brown Jackson

On March 22, 2022, during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Marsha Blackburn asked Jackson to define the word "woman," though Jackson declined because she was "not a biologist."

August 2022: Congressional Delegation to Taiwan

In August 2022, Blackburn led a congressional delegation to Taiwan, where she met with President Tsai Ing-wen and voiced support for Taiwan's independence and closer U.S.-Taiwan relations.

2022: Voted Against Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

In 2022, Marsha Blackburn voted against gun control measures, including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

March 2023: Criticism from Governor Newsom

In March 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Marsha Blackburn for accepting over $1 million in campaign donations from the National Rifle Association of America and for voting against gun control measures.