Minnesota Democrats ask state Supreme Court to resolve state House power struggle
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and House Democrats have asked the state’s highest court to intervene in a partisan power struggle that has roiled the start of the 2025 legislative session that extended into a second day Wednesday.
Simon, a Democrat, petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court late Tuesday to declare that he legally remains the presiding officer in the Minnesota House, for now, and that Tuesday’s election of GOP leader Lisa Demuth as speaker was invalid. He asked the court to back his position that 68 members are needed for a quorum to conduct any official business in the chamber.
“Because the members of the House lacked this constitutionally required quorum on January 14, Representative Demuth has not properly been elected speaker and the House cannot transact business,” Simon’s lawyers wrote. “Until a quorum is present and a speaker is properly elected, the Secretary remains the House’s presiding officer and his role may not be usurped.”
House Democrats boycotted the opening day of the session in an effort to deny Republicans a quorum and block them from exploiting a temporary one-vote majority to unseat one Democrat and advance the GOP agenda. They also petitioned the Supreme Court late Tuesday, asking the high court to prohibit Republican lawmakers from conducting any business until a quorum of at least 68 members is reached, and to declare any actions taken in the meantime “without lawful authority” and “null and void.”
Demuth called the lawsuits an attack on the constitutional separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.
“Secretary Simon has no authority as a member of the executive branch over proceedings in the House, and his role is strictly ceremonial in nature,” Demuth said in a statement.
Republicans contend that only 67 members are needed for a quorum because one seat is empty.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the Supreme Court might rule. The No. 2 House GOP leader, Harry Niska, of Ramsey, told reporters that Republicans will file their official responses after the court posts a scheduling order. He said they will comply with the court’s decision.
“But we think that, just like the executive branch can’t stop the Legislature from functioning, we don’t think the courts are going to try to stop the Legislature from functioning, either,” Niska said.
The main task of the legislative session is to pass a balanced two-year budget in time for it to take effect July 1, and that will eventually require bipartisan cooperation. Both sides agree that they can’t pass actual bills without 68 votes under their rules. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to roll out his budget proposal Thursday.
All seats on the Democrats’ side of the chamber were empty when House Republicans convened a floor session Wednesday to conduct what normally would be routine matters such as the election of the chief clerk.
The November election resulted in a House tied at 67-67, and top leaders from both parties started to work out a power-sharing agreement on the assumption that they would be evenly split this year. But a judge last month declared that a newly elected Democrat, Curtis Johnson, doesn’t live in his district. That gave Republicans a temporary 67-66 majority until a special election can take place Jan. 28. Since the district, which includes Roseville, is heavily Democratic, the election is expected to restore the tie.
Democrats are especially worried because Republicans have threatened to use their two-week majority to refuse to seat another Democrat, Rep. Brad Tabke of Shakopee, who won his race by 14 votes. A court declared Tabke the legal winner and rejected a GOP effort to force a special election in his swing district.
Efforts to revive a power-sharing deal in the House failed. The chamber’s top Democrat, Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, said Tuesday that Demuth refused to commit to letting Tabke keep his seat, even though she offered a deal that would have allowed Demuth to serve as speaker all session.
Lawyers for the state GOP and an allied group on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to invalidate Walz’s order setting Jan. 28 for the Roseville special election. They argued that he set the date earlier than state law allows because the seat wasn’t officially vacant until the Legislature convened Tuesday.
Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn countered that the seat became vacant Dec. 27 after Johnson lost in court and notified the governor he would not contest the judge’s ruling. Hartshorn said the governor acted lawfully to fill the seat as soon as possible.
The justices said they were mindful that the disputes are intertwined and that they will rule quickly.
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
