Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The scene in the Minnesota House has been on repeat for a week now: A half-filled chamber stirs into action with Republicans on one side and undisturbed desks on the Democratic side.

The scene outside the Minnesota House is a bit different: Democratic lawmakers fill school lunchrooms and tour sites that could one day fetch state construction dollars.

It’s the second week of a standoff over chamber control that has Republicans going through traditional motions and Democrats engaged in an untraditional form of protest. Wednesday could be much the same given that there have been no breakthroughs that will bring the parties all under one roof.

Democrats say they have no plans to end a boycott without assurances Republicans won’t remove one of their members — DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, who won a close but legally contested race. Republicans won’t offer that guarantee.

“What’s enough to get us back in the chamber is a commitment not to do it,” House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said Tuesday. “It would be a grotesque abuse of power, and they should commit that they’re not going to do that with the Minnesota House of Representatives."

The top House Republican, Lisa Demuth, said Democrats have been derelict in their duty by staying away from the Capitol.

“There are 66 Democrats that are choosing not to show up and do their job,” Demuth, of Cold Spring, said. 

Leaders in the chamber remain at an impasse over the authority that Republicans should have with a temporary one-vote advantage. GOP leaders have held floor sessions and elected leaders and kicked off hearings for their top priorities this year.

Meanwhile, Democrats have branded the proceedings a “sham” that isn’t valid since they’ve denied quorum — the threshold needed to conduct official actions in the Legislature. 

They say they’re worried that showing up could give Republicans ammunition to unseat Tabke, a Shakopee-area lawmaker. So they’ve spent the first eight days of the legislative session closer to home instead.

“Democrats are asking for something so simple from the Republicans — honor the will of the voters,” Hortman said. “Until Republicans make that commitment, we will continue to focus on doing work in our districts. Free and fair elections are worth fighting for.

Minnesota Supreme Court sides with GOP, cancels special election key to House control

The 2025 Legislature is off to a bumpy start

DFL candidate’s election stands for Shakopee-area Minnesota House seat

On Friday morning, a group of west metro lawmakers met with Hopkins students, teachers and school district administrators to get an update on their top wishlist items for the legislative session. The district’s legislative action coalition holds a breakfast event each year

“We are going to acknowledge that they’re doing their work in trying times, in contentious times and that we appreciate them still making the time,” said Rachel Hartland, the treasurer on the Hopkins School Board.

Rep. Mike Freiberg said he and his colleagues are taking a stand.

“We’d certainly rather be there, but until this power grab is over and they agree to seat validly elected legislators, you know, we’re not going to be back there but we’re going to be working really hard in our districts at events like this,” Freiberg said.

The seven-term Golden Valley lawmaker is among DFLers who have traded time on the House floor for events closer to home. He rattled off events on his schedule Friday: first the Hopkins event, then a press conference in Minneapolis, a Zoom meeting to discuss issues in the Elections Committee, a labor training, a meeting with the Golden Valley police department and a one-on-one with a city council member.

“So I mean, the day’s as full as it ever is,” Freiberg said.

Freshman Rep. Alex Falconer, of Eden Prairie, said his meetings away from the Capitol have also been back-to-back.

“As the first-time legislator in all of this — I haven’t been to the Capitol for work, but what I’ve really learned is that there’s so much more work that goes on outside the Capitol building,” Falconer said. “Just because we're not showing up and pushing a button to vote or to discuss bills in committee doesn’t mean we’re not actively participating in our communities.”

DFL lawmakers have chronicled their meetings with local officials, police officers or other interest groups with social media photos. They said the time away from the typical Capitol happenings has helped them get a better grasp on what the Legislature should work on when they return. But that date is still in question.

Duluth Rep. Pete Johnson, also a rookie who hasn’t yet been to a Capitol session, toured the Great Lakes Aquarium last week. He said the unusual session’s start has helped him better understand issues facing the region and gives him more time with constituents. 

“One of the complaints is that when somebody gets elected, they get detached from their district,” Johnson said. “This is one of those cases where that’s definitely not happening.” 

Republicans are furious DFLers are skipping sessions while taking paychecks. Testifiers in committees are noting the absence, too. 

“I am disappointed to have to look around this room. Some of you have gotten the memo that you serve Minnesotans and the public,” RaeAnna Lee, with Americans for Prosperity Minnesota, said during a hearing attended only by Republicans on Tuesday. “You have shown up and we thank you for that.”

 for the chamber on Thursday that would bar lawmakers from getting per diem pay — reimbursement for meals, travel and lodging — for days they’re absent from the Legislature. They’ll also consider a new process for challenging the seating of a lawmaker.

Whether Republicans have properly convened hearings and floor sessions is before the Minnesota Supreme Court, which takes up a pair of Democratic lawsuits this Thursday.

Republicans filed a response to the lawsuits on Tuesday. In it, they dispute the idea they’re operating outside of the rules of fair play.

“The court has never attempted to review the propriety of a purely internal organizational decision of the Legislature, such as its members’ choice of a speaker,” 

lawyers for the House GOP wrote in a brief

. “Indeed, we are aware of no case in United States history in which a court removed a legislative body’s officer as improperly chosen.”

Conservative groups have launched ads slamming the Democrats’ absence. And they’ve threatened to wage recall efforts.

Hortman said it’s a fight worth fighting.

“What we’re doing is hard,” Hortman said at a news conference on Friday. “We know we’re taking some heat for it, but the principles that we’re standing up for are important enough to take that heat.”

MPR News correspondent Dan Kraker contributed to this report from Duluth.

Politics and Government News

2025 Minnesota legislative session

Shows

All Things Considered

NewsPartners

Homepage

Dana Ferguson

Author

Democrats in the Minnesota House are boycotting the Capitol over a disagreement about the power Republicans should hold given a temporary advantage there. They’re doing events in their districts instead.

House Democrats stick to work closer to home as row with Republicans persists at Minnesota Capitol

Go Deeper.

Like this?