Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will take the stage to speak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this month, reports the Tennessean. Blackburn was selected by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, and has referred to herself as a "very unlikely candidate" for Trump's vice president pick. Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker, considered a VP candidate himself prior to removing himself from contention earlier this week, will also attend the convention.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told the Washington Post today that he has withdrawn from consideration as a potential running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Corker said he informed Trump of his decision while campaigning with him yesterday. “There are people far more suited for being a candidate for vice president, and I think I’m far more suited for other types of things,” Corker told the paper. But he praised Trump during the interview and said he remains eager to serve as an informal adviser to the candidate. According to WKRN, a tweet from Corker’s office today clarified that the senator would still be open to a cabinet position.

Mark Winslow, former chief of staff for the Tennessee Republican Party, resigned Thursday as a member of the party’s Executive Committee, the Nashville Post Politics reports. Winslow confirmed that his timing was no coincidence: after losing his job, suing the party and surviving several attempts to kick him off the committee, he said he had enough. He denied that his resignation had anything to do with the battle over delegates for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Humphrey on the Hill has the story.

WPLN reports U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, is again calling for a temporary ban on the resettlement of Syrian refugees. Citing the Orlando shooting, Blackburn co-sponsored a measure with Tennessee Rep. Scott DesJarlais that would cut off all funding for resettlement until Congress has approved the Obama administration's plans.  

A new analysis by The Associated Press finds minority residents are underrepresented — in terms of the numbers of seats they hold relative to their shares of state populations — in 47 state legislatures across the country, including Tennessee's. White residents comprised 74.5 percent of Tennessee's estimated 2014 population, but white lawmakers held 84.7 percent of the total 132 seats in the state Legislature. The Knoxville News Sentinel takes a closer look at the issue and argues that a more diverse legislature could be in the state’s future based on recent elections.  

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley said he plans to shut down the judicial confirmation process this summer ahead of President Obama’s last months in office, Roll Call reports. The Iowa Senator said that he will allow for limited exceptions. Edward Stanton III of Memphis is among the reported more than a dozen nominees awaiting Senate approval; Stanton was nominated by Obama in May 2015 to serve as U.S. district judge for the Western District of Tennessee.   

“Indefensible,” is how Gov. Bill Haslam described Donald Trump’s controversial comments about a federal judge presiding over a case involving Trump University. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, has a conflict of interest because of his “Mexican heritage.” Haslam added, “To say that because of someone’s heritage or their ethnicity that they are unable to provide fair judgment is just wrong. It’s just not how the judicial system works in our country and not how it ever can work.” Read more from The Tennessean. 

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., today filed legislation that would nullify the new federal overtime rule that allows full-time salaried employees to qualify for overtime if they make up to $47,476 a year. Alexander argued the change – set to take effect later this year – would reduce work hours and inhibit flexible work schedules. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, joined Alexander in the filing.