Saint Paul, Minn. – On Sunday, January 12th, 2025, all but one DFL state representatives-elect were sworn into office for the 2025-2026 biennium. One state representative-elect was sworn in on Friday, January 10th. Senior District Court Judge Kevin Burke administered the oath at the Minnesota History Center. Taking the oath of office early in a location outside the state Capitol is not unprecedented – multiple instances are recorded in the House Journal.
Normally, state representatives are sworn into office on the first day of session. However, Democrats are prepared to deny the 68-member quorum required to conduct House business until successful power-sharing negotiations conclude with Republicans.
“Last week we publicly stated our reasons for denying quorum – we would like Republicans to honor the will of the voters,” said DFL Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman. “We're working to successfully conclude negotiations with House Republicans and remain hopeful that we will have a power-sharing agreement before Tuesday, January 14th. Denial of quorum is a legitimate parliamentary tactic. Michigan House Republicans used the same tactic in December 2024. In the event Democrats choose to deny quorum, we wanted to be sure to have all our members properly and legally sworn in and we did that this evening.”
There are multiple instances of representatives being sworn in at a time other than the first day of session. Minnesota statute 3.05 does not provide that the first day of session is the only time that members can be sworn in. Other Minnesota law and past practice indicates it is legally permissible to be done at other times and that it has been done at other times. Other law provides the persons entitled to administer oaths, and Democrats followed those statutes today.
“Minnesotans voted for equal numbers of Democratic and Republican state representatives. Honoring the will of the voters means governing together under shared power,” added Hortman. “Minnesotans want Republicans to honor the will of the voters. We would like to get to work on a bipartisan basis to tackle the challenges Minnesotans elected us to address. We have no interest in spending January locked in partisan warfare with House Republicans, but we do not intend to allow them to pretend that 67 votes is a majority and engage in an illegitimate power grab. Democrats are prepared to use all parliamentary tactics available to us in the absence of a power-sharing agreement on the first day of session.”
“Republicans are deeply frustrated that they are unable to call the House of Representatives to order and conduct business without collaboration by Democrats,” said DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long. “It is sad that they are now resorting to issuing misleading press releases with reckless accusations. Republicans should return to the negotiating table instead.”