MNLeg mess must not fester

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Fresh off the Vikings’ disastrous nationally televised loss to the Los Angeles Rams, a different state institution is serving up another embarrassing, high-profile Minnesota mess.

The Minnesota House, one chamber of the state’s bicameral legislature, is in disgraceful disarray. The dysfunction became painfully apparent on Tuesday.

That was the 2025 session’s very first day, when half the House chamber sat empty when DFL members didn’t show up to ”block Republicans from using a temporary one-seat majority to elect a House speaker and control committees for the next two years, and from refusing to seat a DFLer whose election victory they contested in court,” the Minnesota Star Tribune politics team reported.

But unlike the state’s professional football team, legislative leaders don’t have an off season ahead of them to make improvements. The remainder of the session lies ahead and it needs to be a productive one to best serve Minnesotans.

That’s why the House’s Republican and DFL “coaches” — Reps. Lisa Demuth and Melissa Hortman, who respectively lead their chamber caucuses — need to find mutually acceptable solutions in the hours and days ahead.

Each day they do not is a disservice to voters and a blight on Minnesota’s longstanding tradition of good governance. This cannot be allowed to fester into February.

The court system also has a role in resolving this. Legal clarity on what constitutes a quorum in the Minnesota House is needed as soon as possible, as in days, not weeks.

The shambolic standoff in the House should not have been inevitable after the 2024 election delivered a 67-67 tie in the House. While the tie is unusual and not optimal, it did not preclude a sensible power-sharing agreement.

Heading into the session, a reasonable compromise like this appeared to be in the works for the House and the Senate. In fact, such an arrangement remains in place for the legislature’s upper chamber, which is temporarily tied 33-33 after the passing of DFL Sen. Kari Dziedzic. There will be a Jan. 28 special election to fill her seat.

The Senate’s smooth start this week reflects well on its leadership. It’s also a timely reminder that such an agreement can be forged when there are deep political divisions. The Senate’s example should serve as the North Star for the House in the days ahead. Unfortunately, gamesmanship is dominating.

Among those who follow legislative politics closely, there’s a vigorous debate about which political party shoulders more of the blame for the House chaos. We’d like to speak for the vast majority of Minnesotans who aren’t political insiders. On their behalf comes this public service announcement:

Figure this out. Right now. And get to work.

If House Republicans and DFLers need further incentive, consider this. The optics of this mess are brutal for both.

We’ll start with the House GOP, which is attempting to leverage a brief and temporary advantage for two-year control. That might appease party hard-liners but it’s a bad look, one that’s unlikely to help the GOP address its drought of statewide office victories.

The GOP’s threat to not seat an incoming DFL House representative shows dubious judgment as well. There are understandable questions about DFLer Brad Tabke’s razor-thin win in a Shakopee-area race. But on Tuesday, a Dakota County judge upheld Tabke’s victory.

That judicial action deserves respect, just like a previous legal ruling in December that went in Republicans' favor. It involved a Roseville House race. A DFL candidate won. Republicans challenged the election on grounds that the candidate did not have residency. A judge agreed and a special election is slated for Jan. 28. This shouldn’t have to be said, but you can’t just respect the rulings that go in your party’s favor.

DFLers have only themselves to blame for the Roseville vacancy contributing to the chaos. The party did not properly vet the candidate, a blocking-and-tackling failure.

Moves by House DFL leadership show poor judgment as well. Exhibit A: The off-site swearing-in ceremony that took place on Sunday in lieu of the traditional public ceremony at the Capitol on the session’s first day. It suggests this was done in secret, that there was something to hide.

In addition, there is no plausible case to be made that boycotting the House chamber put voters’ interests first. In predictable response, the state Republican Party chair has vowed to start recall petitions against DFLers who didn’t show up on Tuesday.

If you’re exhausted by all this and wishing there were a high school principal’s office to send these politicians, welcome to the club.

It is deeply disappointing to see gamesmanship mar the Minnesota Legislature, especially when the Minnesota Senate managed to find a reasonable and lasting compromise.

Senate GOP Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, has said that chamber’s power-sharing agreement is an “opportunity to build trust and respect as we navigate these circumstances.”

May his House counterparts heed this wisdom. Legislators are in St. Paul to serve the public, not politics. That means straightening things out and getting back to regular order, with a swift assist from the judicial system.