Republicans said they were justified in holding their ground given the gap between the state’s projected revenues and Shapiro’s desired spending levels, saying that Democrats’ previous compromise offers didn’t bring expenditures down enough to make a meaningful dent in the deficit.

The business cards included the words “Invisible Empire,” “Family-Country-Liberty,” and “A revival of the American spirit,” alongside an email address and a central Tennessee phone number, posts on social media showed.

The “independent committee,” initially intended to have 3 members, was handpicked by Mayor Wanda Williams. They selected 13 recipients from 26 applications.

The private and fast selection process has raised questions from experts who say it doesn’t match best practices for spending public money.