Minnesota House begins legislative session without Democrats

Attention turns to the courts Wednesday amid an intense power standoff at the state Capitol.

House Democratic leaders and DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon, whose decision to adjourn Tuesday’s session was ignored by Republicans, have asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to rule and deem the parallel session illegal.

Sixty-six Democrats present in the chamber boycotted the first day of session and deprived a quorum when Simon presided over the chamber. But GOP leaders opposed the decision to adjourn and held their own session, complete with an election for House speaker, immediately after Simon resigned. They voted by 67 for GOP leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to be their chairwoman.

“All actions taken after Secretary Simon adjourned the House, including the election of Respondent Demuth as Speaker of the House, were improper and illegal.” House Democratic leaders Melissa Hortman, Jamie Long and Athena Hollins wrote in a statement Tuesday evening.

They requested that the court find these measures illegal, since the Republicans did not have the 68 votes necessary to constitute a quorum in the chamber and invalidate them.

Simon, in a separate filing, echoed the argument and said he remains the speaker of the chamber until 68 members show up.

“Until a quorum is present and a Speaker is duly elected, the Secretary remains the Speaker of the House and his role cannot be usurped,” he wrote.

Republicans insist that only 67 members are needed to conduct the business of the House, because it has only 133 certified members, pending a special election.

Rep. Harry Niska, a GOP leader, said Simon was exceeding his power.

“The legislature decides what its quorum rules will be. Parliament decides what its internal rules will be. The legislature decides who its chairmen will be,” Niska said. “The secretary of state does not have the power to control this.”

Republicans, meanwhile, accuse Democrats of violating state law by swearing in their members in a private ceremony Sunday — two days before the 2025 session officially begins. Republicans on Tuesday called their fellow Democrats of “elected representatives,” but have so far not taken legal action to challenge whether they took the oath of office.

Walz intervenes

Gov. Tim Walz, who did not make his usual tour to greet lawmakers on the first day, issued a statement questioning the validity of the House proceedings.

“Even though House Republicans wish to govern as a single party, the law is the law and the House is not in session,” Walz said in a written statement. “House Republicans must assure Minnesotans that they will not overturn an election or take power that voters did not give them. Once this common-sense commitment is made, the important work the House has before it can move forward.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has already been embroiled in an election dispute over an unsettled House seat, with a hearing Wednesday morning on the timing of the upcoming special election.

This seat – the 134th – was in Democratic hands after the November elections. But the winner, Curtis Johnson, withdrew after a judge ruled he had not established proper residency in the district.

Walz scheduled a special election for Jan. 28, but Republicans sued, claiming the vacancy did not occur and the election could not be expedited.

“Johnson was not in possession of the office, so he was not an incumbent capable of resigning to create a vacancy,” lawyers for the Republican Party and the Minnesota Voters Alliance wrote in a brief submitted to the court this week . The case seeks to overturn and reschedule the Jan. 28 special election.

A lawyer for Walz said he correctly applied a state law allowing special election preparations when a vacancy is unavoidable.

During their restarted session Tuesday, House Republicans passed a resolution that would set Tuesday as the day the seat would actually be open. If this position continues, the elections would be pushed back until February or beyond. This would keep the Republicans in a 67-66 position for longer.

This is not the only seat that is the subject of contention. A judge ruled Tuesday that DFL Rep. Brad Tabke’s narrow election victory should stand, even if Republicans disagree about seating him.

Meanwhile, the Senate opened without tensions taking over the House. A power-sharing agreement resulted in co-chamber chairs, equal representation on committees, and an agreement that no commissioner confirmations or bill votes take place without a common agreement.

Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson said he and Democratic leader Erin Murphy worked hard to reach an agreement.

“Nobody had those trap moments,” Johnson said. “Think less of a conversation with WWE and more of an escape room where we’re just trying to figure out how to make this work together to achieve an end goal.”

MPR News reporters Kirsti Marohn and Peter Cox contributed to this story.