The Minnesota House DFLers do not attend the opening session as Republicans elect their speaker

MPR News

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.
Cameras panned the House chamber — and the empty DFL side — as the roll call began.
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.
Going into the session, Republicans and Democrats will be evenly split at 33-33 with no tiebreaker.

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On Tuesday, DFLers followed through on their pledge to keep the Minnesota House in limbo by abstaining from the start of the session while the parties vie for control. In response, House Republicans elected their leader as the new speaker of the House and pushed forward in the chamber that was only partially occupied.

Although the future is uncertain, legal challenges are probably in the works for all of this. A later pledge on Tuesday by DFL leaders was to appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Legislature met at noon with no House Democrats present. At the start of the roll call, cameras panned the House chamber and the vacant DFL side. After calling the names of the DFLers and receiving no response, the clerk paused. Republicans eagerly marked themselves as “present” when the roll call came up.

There was a resounding round of applause after the GOP members were sworn in. To the half-full room, DFLer Secretary of State Steve Simon remarked, “Congratulations members, one and all.”.

Soon after, the positive vibes started to fade.

As the first presiding officer, Simon declared that there was no quorum and that the House could not carry out its business when an electronic roll call vote revealed that there were only 67 Republicans, or precisely half of the chamber, as indicated by the green .s that appeared on the voting board next to the names of those present.

GOP Rep. Simon swiftly declared the session adjourned for the day despite Harry Niska’s objection.

But after a short pause, R-Ramsey, Niska, stood up to overrule Simon’s decision. Sitting in the speaker’s seat, Rep. R-Starbuck’s Paul Anderson determined that there was a quorum. Following that, Republicans unanimously selected Rep. R-Cold Spring Lisa Demuth will serve as the House Speaker.

After the vote, Demuth told the chamber, “The people of Minnesota are counting on us today — not for partisan victories or political theater but for real results that improve their daily lives.”.

DFLers promise to challenge the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the day, DFL leaders had indicated that they planned to carry out their boycott threat.

Melissa Hortman, the Democratic leader, said in a statement midmorning that the DFL would not be present at the Capitol on Tuesday.

The GOP’s reaction to the news that a judge had ordered state Rep. The incumbent member of the DFL Minnesota House, Brad Tabke, who just barely won reelection, ought to be eligible to start a new term. Demuth expressed disapproval of the decision and stated that her caucus would review it and weigh its options.

She added that Democrats needed to “protect the will of the voters” by abstaining from the session until after the conclusion of a special in House District 40B.

A key seat, District 40B, became available when the DFLer who won in November was disqualified for not establishing proper residency in time to serve the district in the Roseville-Shoreview area. It must be filled out by January. A pending legal battle also affects the timing of the special election on the 28th, which will decide whether Republicans actually win or if the chamber is tied at 67-67.

In an interview later Tuesday, Hortman told MPR News, “What the Republicans did in the Minnesota House chamber today is absolutely stunning,” and he described the session’s continuation following Simon’s decision as “a complete sham.”. “.”.

She went on to say that the Republicans “just couldn’t handle it, and they clearly lost on quorum.”. Thus, a fictitious House of Representatives was necessary. “”.

“Democrats are getting ready to sue the Minnesota Supreme Court to declare the House actions, including the election of Demuth as speaker, invalid,” she said. “Republicans violated a number of statutes that relate to the operation of the Legislature today,” she stated.

But what about the Senate?

On Sunday, Senate leaders declared that they had agreed to share power, at least for the first part of the session. The precise rotation of gavels will be decided, but Republicans and Democrats will share custody of committee chair and presiding officer positions. Their representation on committees will be equally distributed.

Senators named Sen. Sen, DFL-Minneapolis, and Bobby Joe Champion. R-Winona’s Jeremy Miller as Senate co-president. After their selection, the two gave each other a friendly embrace.

Perhaps the former Sen’s desk would display yet another symbol of solidarity. Kari Dziedzic, a DFLer from Minneapolis, passed away in December, less than two years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There was a lone red rose on the desk in a vase.

Republicans and Democrats will be evenly divided at 33-33 going into the session, with no tiebreaker. Later this month, a special election for a seat in the Minneapolis area will end the tie. Additionally, once one caucus adds a 34th member, the power-sharing agreement may be revoked.

Top lawmakers, however, stated that any procedural rules that are adopted early in the session will remain in effect for the rest of the year.

The Senate is off to a dramatic start to the year. Sen. At the Detroit Lakes residence of her stepmother, Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was taken into custody last year. She was accused of stealing multiple items that she claimed belonged to her late father and was charged with burglary.

Mitchell has entered a not guilty plea, claiming that there was a misunderstanding. Republicans and some Democrats have urged her to step down from her Senate seat, but she has refused.

January is when her trial is scheduled to start. 28. Her attorneys have requested that Becker County Judge Michael Fritz postpone the trial until after the 2025 legislative session, citing the potential for jury bias due to the current Capitol unrest and state law prohibiting a lawmaker from participating in a trial during a legislative session.

The prosecution has argued against postponing the trial. Fritz said he would make a decision “sooner rather than later” and agreed to consider the motion to postpone the trial on Tuesday. “.

“It won’t be a love fest.”.

Undoubtedly, the House has a lot of work ahead of it this session.

A two-year budget must be approved by lawmakers by July 1st, or the state may experience a government shutdown. Since they failed to complete a public construction finance bill last year, they might also take one up.

Additionally, they might consider a number of policy bills and potential changes to Minnesota’s emerging legal cannabis market as well as the state’s paid family and medical leave program, which is scheduled to launch next year.

Although lawmakers must adjourn the legislative session on May 19, if they are unable to complete their work by then, they may be called back for a special session.

As the political unrest persisted, people and activists who attended Tuesday’s opening day at the Capitol expressed their hope that lawmakers would be able to move past partisan politics and tackle problems.

Among them was Susie Kaufman, a state leader for the group Moms Demand Action, which advocates for stricter gun control legislation.

She remarked, “I don’t understand how you can read one more story about a child who gains access to a gun that ought to have been securely locked and then dies as a result of having that gun.”. “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. “,”.

Although Kaufman declined to comment on the struggle for control of the Legislature, she expressed her hope that some legislation would be passed this year.

Vote Climate, led by Jean Ross of Minneapolis, visited the Capitol. With a sign calling on members to preserve the state’s wild rice, she expressed her optimism that despite the political struggle for control of the Legislature, lawmakers will take up issues pertaining to equal rights and the climate.

She stated, “We cannot give up.”. It goes without saying that we must continue to fight for these vital causes. In contrast to 2023, it won’t be a love fest. Let’s be honest, this will be a difficult row, but we will not give up. We won’t give up. We must. “.”.

This report was contributed to by Kirsti Marohn and Mathew Holding Eagle III of MPR News.

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