Dear Neighbor,
The House is in session at the Capitol after a constitutional – albeit unusual – swearing-in ceremony took place Tuesday with 67 Republicans and zero Democrats taking the oath of office in the House because House Democrats are staging a boycott.
Democrat Secretary of State Steve Simon attempted to unilaterally declare a lack of quorum – even though 67 Republicans constitute a majority of the 133 elected members – and tried to adjourn the floor session without further business. This overreach exceeds Simon’s constitutional authority because an executive officer who is not a member of the House cannot override the decisions of its elected representatives.
So, House Republicans did the right thing by following constitutional procedures for conducting business as usual. This includes electing the first black Speaker of the House in state history, Rep. Lisa Demuth. It is too bad Democrats missed that proud, momentous occasion for Minnesota because they were off playing hooky.
Meanwhile, the 2025 session is now in its fourth day and Democrats are nowhere to be seen at the Capitol, racking up unexcused absences in the process. All the while, they continue engaging in disingenuous, flat-out dangerous rhetoric, pushing our state into a deeper and deeper constitutional crisis. Legislators have a constitutional duty to fulfill their roles and cannot simply abandon that responsibility. According to state law, refusing to take the oath of office triggers a vacancy in a member’s seat. Democrats have done that by not appearing at the Capitol on the constitutionally appointed day to begin the session.
Here’s the thing: The framers of the Minnesota Constitution rejected both Simon’s interpretation of what constitutes a quorum, and his profoundly anti-democratic policy choice. On July 30, 1857, a delegate offered an amendment to adopt Simon’s view of the quorum requirement. It was opposed by another delegate because “this amendment if adopted, will allow a minority, by remaining out of either House, and refusing to be sworn in, to compel the attendance, and constantly perhaps, of all the other members—a case similar to what we saw at the commencement of this Convention.”
Maybe the closest parallel to what we face today occurred when former Gov. Mark Dayton attempted to defund the legislature with a line-item veto – a move the Minnesota Supreme Court appropriately struck down, citing separation of powers. We hope for a similar defense of constitutional order now that Simon and other Democrats are suing House Republicans for organizing on the constitutionally dictated date and time.
Imagine the outrage from the left if Donald Trump declared that Congress doesn't exist. Just imagine. In similar fashion, for all his recent bluster, Tim Walz has no constitutional authority to determine when or if the House is in session. He's on a glidepath toward impeachment for attempting to interfere in the work of a separate branch. This transcends political rhetoric. It's an attack upon the Constitution.
The presiding officer of a parliamentary body may not, under rules, simply ignore an inquiry or motion from the floor. Simon is not the House. We get it, this is how Democrats operate. It's how they shoved through a 1,400-plus page omnibus last year. But those days are over because House Republicans have broken the Democrat trifecta of power.
If a meme can land someone in jail for "election interference," lying about the legal status of the legislature should carry similar consequences.
I would be remiss by not mentioning how, through all of this, Democrats continue using a contested election in Shakopee to run cover for their real problem. They are ginning up controversy in a Shakopee district to distract from the fact a Democrat was caught cheating in a separate election and was barred from being seated in the House. Put Shakopee aside, the Roseville/Shoreview election fraud is the real reason House Democrats are a minority today.
We’ll see how all this plays out. For now, I’m pleased to be back at work in St. Paul, doing the work people in District 30A elected me to do as a member of the House. The oath of office is a humbling experience, not only because of the great responsibility to constituents it brings, but also due to the great respect I have for the House of Representatives as an institution. I’m at the Capitol, working to get our state back on track by focusing on what’s important to everyday Minnesotans.
For starters, I am eager to serve as a member of a newly formed committee that will work to address fraud in state programs amid numerous reports detailing widespread abuse of tax dollars. I also will serve on judiciary/civil law, education and public safety committees this biennium.
Please stay tuned for more notes from the House throughout the 2025 session. Have a good weekend and, as always, please let me know how I can help.
Sincerely,
Walter