Minnesota Democrats sue Republicans over power grab in state House

ST. PAUL (CN) — Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives acted without authority when they elected Republican Representative Lisa Demuth to the speaker position without a quorum, state Democrats claim in twolawsuits filed Wednesday in Minnesota Supreme Court.

In the lawsuits, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, and Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Representative Melissa Hortman asked the court to declare the Republicans’ “improper and unlawful” actions unconstitutional.

“On Jan. 14, Republican state representatives took their oath of office and then turned around and broke it,” DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long said in a statement. “Republicans’ blatant disregard for the Minnesota Constitution and state law is a chilling attack on our democracy, and it is right out of the Donald Trump/MAGA playbook.”

Minnesotans elected 67 Republicans and 67 DFLers to the state House during the 2024 election, which typically means a power-sharing deal would be implemented at the start of this year’s session.

According to Hortman, initial talks regarding a power-sharing agreement they fell apart after a judge determined earlier this month that a DFLer who won his seat in a heavily Democrat-leaning district did not live in the district. That left Republicans with a one-seat majority until a special election occurs later this month.

“Demuth abandoned their negotiated agreement and declared her intent to seize control in the House,” Hortman, who served as the House speaker last year, wrote in her petition.

While that one-seat majority means Republicans have the power right now to elect a speaker, Democrats attempted to subvert that power grab by failing to show up to the Legislature Tuesday, denying Republicans the quorum needed to elect a speaker.

Simon’s position as secretary of state requires him to call the House of Representatives to order and preside over the House until a speaker is elected. With 66 Democrats absent from the floor, Simon adjourned the House Tuesday.

The Republicans pushed forward anyway and elected Demuth, who served as the Republican leader the last two years, as speaker.

Simon contends that since Demuth’s election was invalid, he remains the presiding officer of the House. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office represents Simon in his lawsuit against Demuth.

“The Constitution requires that the House have 68 members to transact business, and state law dictates that the secretary remain the House’s presiding officer until it elects a speaker,” Simon wrote in his petition, adding that Demuth does not have the authority to serve as speaker.

Demuth threatened to remove Simon as secretary of state if he attempted to block her election as speaker earlier this month.

In addition, questions surrounding the election of a Scott County DFLer, Brad Tabke, who won his seat by 14 votes in a district that lost 20 ballots, led Republicans to threaten not to seat him after earlier legal challenges against him failed.

But Minnesota House Democrats got around that threat by swearing in all of the party’s members during a secret ceremony the day before this year’s session was to begin, which Republicans have called “illegitimate.”

“Representative Tabke’s victory was established on election night, confirmed in a recount, and confirmed again in a court ruling in response to Republicans’ election contest lawsuit. Republicans are going to extreme and unprecedented lengths to seize power that the voters did not give them, and Democrats will fight their unlawful, unconstitutional actions every step of the way,” Hortman said in a statement.

Democrats contend that a power-sharing agreement is the only appropriate path forward and they intend to continue their boycott of House presidings until this month’s special election is finalized.

Demuth did not respond to a request for comment before this story was published.