
Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78.
Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack.
The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004.
In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties.
Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it.
Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.'
'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said.
Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property.
The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.'
Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities.
He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of toll lanes on highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Los Angeles Times
25 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Sen. Padilla claps back after JD Vance calls him ‘Jose': ‘ He knows my name'
Sen. Alex Padilla blasted the Trump administration Saturday, calling it 'petty and unserious' after Vice President JD Vance referred to him as 'Jose' during a news conference in Los Angeles the previous day. 'He knows my name,' Padilla said in an appearance on MSNBC on Saturday morning. Vance visited Los Angeles on Friday for less than five hours after several weeks of federal immigration raids in the city and surrounding areas, sparking protests and backlash from state and local officials. Padilla was thrown into the heated nationwide immigration debate when he was dragged to the ground by federal law enforcement officers and briefly detained when he attempted to ask U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a news conference earlier this month. Vance characterized the move by California's first Latino senator as 'political theater' in his remarks. 'I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't a theater, and that's all it is,' Vance said. Vance served alongside Padilla in the Senate and is now the president of the upper chamber of Congress. Vance's press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, told Politico that the vice president misspoke and 'must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.' Padilla, in his TV interview, said he broke no laws. He suggested the misnaming was intentional — and a reflection of the administration's skewed priorities. 'He's the vice president of the United States.' Padilla said. 'You think he'd take the the situation in Los Angeles more seriously.' Padilla said Vance might instead have taken the opportunity to talk to families or employers affected by raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Other California Democrats rallied behind Padilla after the misnaming incident. 'Calling him 'Jose Padilla' is not an accident,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Friday post on the social media platform X. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass highlighted racial undertones in Vance's comments. 'I guess he just looked like anybody to you, but he's not just anybody to us,' she said during a press conference on Friday. 'He is our senator.'


Newsweek
40 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Calls Green Tax Credits in 'Big Beautiful Bill' 'Scam'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump criticized his own federal budget legislation in a post on Truth Social Saturday. "I HATE 'GREEN TAX CREDITS' IN THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL," the president said, adding "They are largely a giant SCAM." The bill, which includes $4.9 trillion package packed with tax breaks, budget cuts and new Medicaid work requirements, made it past the House last month in a close 215-214 vote, with two Republicans breaking ranks to vote "no," Newsweek previously reported. The next hurdle, opposition and infighting in the Senate. Now, Trump has stated even he has problems with outlined initiatives. "I would much prefer that this money be used somewhere else, including reductions. 'Anywhere' would be preferable!" Trump exclaimed. "Windmills, and the rest of this "JUNK," are the most expensive and inefficient energy in the world, is destroying the beauty of the environment, and is 10 times more costly than any other energy," the President explained, adding "None of it works without massive government subsidy (energy should NOT NEED SUBSIDY!). Also, it is almost exclusively made in China!!! It is time to break away, finally, from this craziness!!!" This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.


New York Post
41 minutes ago
- New York Post
Bill Maher says Dems need to ‘do something' about ‘The View' after Whoopi Goldberg's Iran comments
'Real Time' host Bill Maher and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, hammered Whoopi Goldberg and 'The View' on Friday after the co-host claimed that life for Black Americans is equivalent to women living under Iran's oppressive theocratic regime. Maher claimed that Democrats took a step 'back to sanity' after The New York Times took a more 'sensible liberal, not crazy woke' position on transgender issues. He then asserted that the second step Democrats should take is to 'do something about 'The View'' after Goldberg's comment comparing life for Black Americans to living under Iran's brutal regime. Goldberg sparked backlash during a heated argument with her fellow 'The View' co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin on Wednesday. Griffin elaborated on the many human rights violations perpetrated by the Ayatollah's regime in Iran, including executions of gay people and imprisonment of women who go outside with their hair uncovered. 'Let's not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car. Listen, I'm sorry, they used to just keep hanging Black people,' Goldberg insisted as Griffin pushed back and said the situations weren't comparable. 3 Maher claimed that Democrats took a step 'back to sanity' after The New York Times took a more 'sensible liberal, not crazy woke' position on transgender issues. FOX News Hunt shot down Whoopi's assessment of life in America for Black people, noting the success he's found in the United States as a Black man. 'My district in the great state of Texas is actually a white majority district that President Trump would have won by 25 points. As I said, I'm a direct descendant of a slave, my great-great-grandfather, who was born on Rosedown Plantation. I am literally being judged not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character,' he explained. Hunt continued, adding, 'That's the progress because — like a lot of white people had to vote for me — a lot. So I don't ever want to hear Whoopi Goldberg's conversation about how it's worse to be black in America right now.' 3 Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin on life in the US and Iran The View, June 18, 2025. ABC 3 Hunt shot down Whoopi's assessment of life in America for Black people, noting the success he's found in the United States as a Black man. FOX News The Texas congressman also pointed out that his father, who grew up under Jim Crow, is now the father of a United States congressman in a white majority district who ran as a Republican. 'That's America,' Hunt stated. CNN Contributor Paul Begala brought up the fact that America has a holiday to celebrate the freedom of Black Americans from slavery — Juneteenth — but questioned why President Donald Trump 'doesn't want to honor' the occasion. 'I don't want it,' Hunt replied. 'I don't want Black History Month. I don't want all these days to make everybody feel special. I'm an '80s baby. Everybody's too sensitive anyway. We're all Americans anyway.'