Political standoff could stall Minnesota legislative session
Power struggle at MN Capitol ahead of session
When the session starts Tuesday at noon, House Republicans will have a 67-66 member advantage and leaders have said they intend to seize control of the House power structure, leading to Democrats saying they will not show up – effectively stalling any legislative business. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard has the latest.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A partisan standoff could derail the start of the Minnesota legislative session on Tuesday.
Power struggle
What we know:
House Republicans are planning to take full power for two years during the three weeks they’ll have more members.
Democrats say they won’t show up at all under those terms.
Ballotpedia has counted 13 notable walkouts that stopped state legislatures dating back more than 100 years, mostly in Oregon and Texas.
It’s never happened in the state of Minnesota, but an 1857 walkout may have stopped the territorial government from drawing different state lines.
Strange start
Dig deeper:
The 2025 Capitol session started strangely on Sunday night as DFL members took the oath of office two days early and at the Minnesota History Center instead of the Capitol.
"We actually anticipated that we would be canceling that," said Rep. Melissa Hortman, (DFL-Brooklyn Park). "It's sort of an emergency backup plan in case we do have to deny quorum, which we are still hoping that we won't have to do."
The 66 Democrats are planning to no-show for the first day and until – they hope – a special election restores the 67-67 House tie they saw after the election.
Without Democrats in the House, there wouldn’t be a quorum, meaning just about any business would be on hold.
That is, if the DFL's definition of a quorum is correct. The GOP believes they can have a quorum without any Democrats.
Escalating battle
What they're saying:
The GOP is gearing up to fight the walkout with recalls.
"If you don't show up for the job, you shouldn't keep it," said Minnesota GOP Chair Alex Plechash.
Republicans say repeated no-shows equate to non-feasance, which is one of the state’s reasons for a recall.
The process would take months, going through the state Supreme Court and collecting signatures. By the time it’s completed, Democrats will likely be back in the chamber.
"We'll certainly argue that the fact that you have not shown up for work multiple days, weeks, perhaps months, that that nonfeasance is not cured by then, later coming back to work," said GOP attorney Ryan Wilson.
Why you should care:
Republican leaders have said they plan to take and hold power throughout the two-year session, even if a 67-67 tie returns in early February.
Democrats can’t overturn leadership assignments in a tie, so their offer to avoid the walkouts is temporary leadership roles for the GOP.
"We can have an election of Lisa DeMuth as speaker of the House," said Rep. Hortman, who would become co-speaker in a shared power arrangement. "We can have all the Republicans chair committees and have three weeks of hearings."
MN House DFL members threaten to hold up legislative session.
House DFL members were sworn in on Sunday in an early oath of office ceremony, ahead of the start of the legislative session. Democrats are threatening not to show up for the start of the legislative session as they are locked in a power struggle with the GOP.
The two top leaders told FOX 9 they planned to meet Monday night to see if they can reach an agreement before the session starts at noon Tuesday.
Meanwhile, their Senate counterparts announced a cordial, temporary power-sharing arrangement Monday.
Republicans and Democrats there will share power equally for now.
The Senate is tied 33-33 until a special election to replace former Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic. Whichever party wins that seat will then take over as the majority.
On the agenda
What's next:
Democrats seem poised to play defense after two years of a trifecta, while Republicans are pushing for some changes.
"We've seen the fraud that's going on," said erstwhile Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, (R-East Grand Forks). "We've seen the mandates. Now we have the ability to turn that focus back on the needs of Minnesotans, and we're going to take full advantage of that."
"We do want to hold the line on the things that we did in the last two years that are important to the people of Minnesota," said Majority Leader-in-waiting Erin Murphy, (DFL-St. Paul). "Things like the child tax credit, universal school meals, free college tuition for families across the state of Minnesota."