Legislative Update – January 28, 2025

Legislative Update – January 28, 2025

Neighbors,

In my last newsletter (which you can read here), I expressed my outrage that on the first day of the legislative session, Minnesota House Republicans attempted an illegitimate power grab, ignoring the law, the constitution, and the will of the voters—all to give themselves full control of the House for the next two years.

Lawsuits were quickly filed by the Minnesota Secretary of State and House DFL Leadership following Republicans’ unconstitutional actions, and since then, my DFL colleagues and I have been forced to stay away from the Capitol in protest while awaiting a court decision. These past weeks, I have been working directly with constituents at home and am ready to bring that important work back to the Capitol.

Last Friday, we received the decision: The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Republicans’ attempted power grab in the Minnesota House violated the state Constitution. That means that every GOP action, including the election of a fake Speaker and appointment of fake committees, was unlawful and illegitimate. This is the correct decision, and now Republicans must stop trying to overturn an election they lost, agree to seat Rep. Brad Tabke, and agree to shared power if the House returns to a 67-67 tie.

In November, voters elected an equal number of Democrats and Republicans to represent them in the House. Now, it’s time for the GOP to start working together with Democrats to develop a fair power-sharing agreement so we can return to the Capitol to govern as Minnesotans intended.

Republicans want to kick out Representative Tabke so they can advance their extreme MAGA agenda. They want to take away reproductive freedoms, eliminate paid leave for families, and get rid of free school meals for kids. That agenda is not our district’s agenda, and our district deserves to have our voices and values heard in this tied House.

Democrats will fight the extreme Trump-Republican agenda and protect the progress we have made for Minnesotans over the past two years, whether attacks come from the Minnesota GOP, or the incoming administration. I’m looking forward to advocating for the needs of our district in the Minnesota Legislature as soon as Republicans abandon their threats to overturn an election and respect the reality of a tied legislature.

Working for Our District

At this time, I’m doing everything within my power to work on the priorities of our district and ensure that the voices of you, my constituents, are not ignored by the House Republicans. I’ve been meeting with local leaders, community organizations, and folks on the ground who are dedicated to making Minnesota a better place.

Since my last update, I’ve:

• Visited the Minneapolis Fire Department Emergency Operations Training Facility on Friday and learned about some of the challenges our first responders are facing in the district. Thank you, Chief Bryan Tyner, for your time and insights, and I look forward to advocating with you this session.
• Talked with folks at GMCC about their drop-in service, children's program, food shelf program, and more! Thanks for all the great work you do!
• Met with the Indian Health Board along with other Health Committee members to talk about ensuring health care is affordable and accessible to ALL Minnesotans.
• Toured the Minnesota Public Housing Authority’s Spring Manor, the largest public housing high-rise redevelopment project in city history and talked about the need to preserve and expand affordable housing options in our city.
• Learned about critical work at Gillette Children’s Hospital and at the Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council, including Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Orthotics, Prosthetics, Seating, and more.
• Toured Planned Parenthood’s clinic in Uptown to speak to healthcare professionals about the importance of protecting reproductive healthcare under an incoming Trump Administration.

You can keep up with all that work by checking out my Official State Representative Facebook page, and I’d encourage you to also share my posts with our neighbors to get the word out that House DFLers are working hard for our communities and fighting against Republican’s attempt to overturn election results and push through their unpopular agenda.

Hold the Line - Star Tribune Commentary

I encourage you to read this powerful commentary written by my DFL colleagues about the need to keep Minnesota as a beacon of hope. During the last biennium, my DFL colleagues accomplished a lot of good, bringing our state closer to a place where all people have the freedom to live their best life. We moved to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and improve the economy for working- and middle-class families. We fought hard to get where we are, and we won’t back down now.

Trump’s “divide-and-conquer” politics stand in stark contrast to how DFL majorities have made progress on the things that matter to Minnesotans. We must be prepared to defend the victories that Minnesota workers and families fought for years to deliver: free school meals for every child, access to paid family and medical leave for workers, protecting reproductive freedom and LGBTQ rights, expanding access to health care and making prescription drugs like insulin and asthma inhalers more affordable, bold action on climate change, and creating more opportunities for Minnesotans to buy a home.

The road ahead is uncertain and rocky, and it will have consequences for every town and city, county and state in this nation. But we are Minnesota, and Minnesota is for everyone. We will do everything in our power to keep it that way.

Stay in Touch!

Hearing from constituents like you is a key aspect to my job as a state legislator. If you have questions, ideas, or feedback that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

You can email me at rep.anquam.mahamoud@house.mn.gov or call my office 651-296-0294. For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.

Sincerely,

Anquam Mahamoud
State Representative