Minnesota House DFLers boycott opening session; Republicans elect their own speaker
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DFLers on Tuesday made good on their threat to keep the Minnesota House in limbo, boycotting the session’s opening as the parties fight over control. House Republicans responded by pushing ahead in the half-empty chamber and electing their leader as the new House speaker.
It’s not clear what comes next, but all of it is likely headed for legal challenges. DFL leaders later Tuesday vowed to take their case to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
House Democrats were no-shows as the Legislature convened at noon. Cameras panned the House chamber — and the empty DFL side — as the roll call began. The clerk paused after calling the names of DFLers and getting no response. Republicans vigorously checked in as "present" when their names in the roll call arrived.
GOP members were then sworn in and a hearty round of applause followed. "Congratulations members, one and all," Secretary of State Steve Simon, a DFLer, said to the half-filled room.
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The good feelings began to unravel shortly after.
When an electronic roll call vote, where green dots appeared on the voting board next to the names of those present, showed only 67 Republicans — exactly half the chamber — Simon in his role as the initial presiding officer declared there was no quorum and the House could not conduct business.
GOP Rep. Harry Niska objected, but Simon quickly gaveled the session adjourned for the day.
After a brief break, however, Niska, R-Ramsey, rose to override Simon's ruling. In the speaker’s chair, Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, ruled a quorum was present. Republicans then unanimously chose their leader, Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to be House speaker.
“The Minnesota people are counting on us today — not for partisan victories or for political theater but for real results that improve their daily lives,” Demuth told the chamber following the vote.
DFLers vow Supreme Court challenge
DFL leaders had signaled earlier in the day they intended to follow through on the boycott threat.
In a midmorning statement, Melissa Hortman, leader of the Democrats, said the DFL would not show up Tuesday at the Capitol.
Hortman cited the GOP’s response to news of a judge concluding state Rep. Brad Tabke, a DFL Minnesota House incumbent who narrowly won reelection, should be able to begin a new term. Demuth criticized the ruling and said her caucus would evaluate it and consider options.
She also said Democrats had to “protect the will of the voters” by boycotting the session until a special in House District 40B had concluded.
District 40B is a crucial seat that came open after the November winner, a DFLer, was disqualified for failing to establish proper residency in time to serve the Roseville-Shoreview area district. It’s due to be filled in a Jan. 28 special election — that timing is also part of a pending court fight — and will determine if Republicans gain a true advantage or if the chamber is tied at 67-67.
"What the Republicans did in the Minnesota House chamber today is absolutely stunning," Hortman told MPR News in an interview later Tuesday, calling the continuation of the session after Simon's ruling “a complete sham.”
The GOP, she added, “clearly lost on quorum, and they just couldn't handle it. So they had to have a fake House of Representatives.”
She said Democrats are preparing to file a lawsuit with the Minnesota Supreme Court to declare the House actions, including Demuth's speaker election, invalid. "There's several statutes that pertain to how the Legislature functions that were violated today by Republicans," she said.
What about the Senate?
Senate leaders announced on Sunday that they’d reached a deal to share power, at least early in the session. Republicans and Democrats will share custody of presiding officer posts and committee chair positions, with the exact rotation of gavels to be determined. They’ll have evenly split representation on committees.
As part of that deal, senators on Tuesday named Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, as co-presidents of the Senate. The pair embraced in a bro hug following their selection.
Perhaps another sign of unity could be seen on the desk of former Sen. Kari Dziedzic, the Minneapolis DFLer who died in December, less than two years after receiving a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. A single red rose stood in a vase on the desk.
Going into the session, Republicans and Democrats will be evenly split at 33-33 with no tiebreaker. A special election for a Minneapolis area seat will break the tie late this month. And the power-sharing deal could be reversed once one caucus gets a 34th member.
But top lawmakers said whatever procedural rules adopted early in session will stay in place for the remainder of the year.
The Senate does have some drama to start the year. Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was arrested last year at her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home. She was charged with burglary and accused of taking several items she said belonged to her late father.
Mitchell has pleaded not guilty, calling the incident a misunderstanding. She has refused calls from Republicans and some Democrats to resign her Senate seat.
Her trial is set to begin Jan. 27. Her lawyers have asked Becker County Judge Michael Fritz to delay the trial until after the 2025 legislative session, arguing that state law says a lawmaker cannot be involved in a trial while the Legislature is in session and that the current Capitol turmoil could bias a jury against her.
Prosecutors have objected to delaying the trial. On Tuesday, Fritz agreed to consider the motion to delay the trial and said he’d rule "sooner rather than later."
‘Not going to be a love fest’
There’s no doubt the House has a lot of work to do this session.
Lawmakers must pass a two-year budget before July 1 or the state could face a government shutdown. They could also take up a public construction finance bill because they weren’t able to get one across the finish line last year.
They could also weigh a variety of policy bills and possible tweaks to Minnesota’s budding legal cannabis marketplace and paid family and medical leave program that is set to go live next year.
Lawmakers have to adjourn the legislative session on May 19, but they could be summoned back for a special session if they can’t get their work done on time.
As the political turmoil continued, citizens and activists who gathered at the Capitol for Tuesday’s opening day said they hoped lawmakers can get beyond partisan politics and address issues.
That included Susie Kaufman, a state leader for Moms Demand Action, which lobbies for stronger gun laws.
"I don't know how you can read one more story about a child who has access to a gun that should have been secured safely, and then dies because they had access to that gun,” she said. “So I'm asking these legislators to just be humane and think about how they can save one life and maybe get something done this session."
Kaufman didn't want to comment on legislators' battle for control of the Legislature, but said she's hopeful some laws will get passed this year.
Jean Ross of Minneapolis came to the Capitol with a group called Vote Climate. She carried a sign urging members to protect the state’s wild rice and said she's hopeful lawmakers will address issues around the climate and equal rights despite the political wrangling for control of the Legislature.
"We can't give up,” she said. “Obviously, we have to keep fighting for these really important issues. It's not going to be a love fest like it was in 2023. I mean, let's face it, it's going to be a hard row, but we'll keep fighting. We will keep fighting. We have to."
MPR News reporters Kirsti Marohn and Mathew Holding Eagle III contributed to this report.
