Minnesota Senate Republicans fail in attempt to expel Woodbury DFLer facing burglary charge

Minnesota Senate Republicans failed Monday to compel a vote to expel Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell over her pending first-degree burglary charge from an incident last year in Detroit Lakes.

The motion was the first attempt by the GOP to oust Mitchell this session although the party tried several measures last year and have a pending ethics complaint against her.

The motion to compel came two weeks into what had been an otherwise collegial Senate session with a power-sharing agreement between the DFL and the GOP, tied with 33 members each in the chamber. A special election in Minneapolis on Tuesday is expected to return the DFL to a 34-33 majority by next week.

Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, brought the motion against Mitchell, noting that her criminal trial was to start Monday in Becker County before it was postponed by the judge until after the session. Rasmusson said Mitchell has “refused to offer a compelling explanation for her conduct” last April, which he termed as “felony burglary and terrorizing an elderly family member.”

He also argued that she cannot adequately represent her constituents given that she doesn’t serve on committees and is not part of DFL caucus meetings. He said she abused her position as a senator by using a state law to delay her trial.

Rasmusson’s motion was ruled out of order after a lengthy back-door discussion that involved the two current Senate presidents: Sens. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, and Jeremy Miller, R-Winona. Those two could not agree so the caucus leaders made the decision to rule the motion out of order, although neither Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, nor Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, would describe how that decision was reached.

After the back-room session, Champion returned to the floor and ruled the motion out of order. Republicans challenged that decision but that vote failed on a 33-33 partisan split.

Mitchell, who voted with the DFLers, did not comment during the discussion, but Johnson and Murphy had plenty to say.

Murphy said the vote was about Mitchell’s due process and the rule of law. If the vote had succeeded, Mitchell would have been the first senator to be expelled before the conclusion of her criminal trial, Murphy said.

Despite the looming case, Murphy said Mitchell can adequately represent her constituents. Murphy also pledged to continue to work with Johnson. “Even though this floor session was difficult, I am committed to and have continued to share my commitment with leader Johnson,” she said.

Johnson said a vote to expel Mitchell was an “opportunity for the Democrats to step up,” but instead “this cloud is going to continue to hang over the Minnesota Senate” as long as Mitchell remains.

Asked if Republican President Donald Trump, the first felon to serve as president, tarnishes the White House, Johnson said he wasn’t going to go down that path.

Murphy did, however, saying Trump violated the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution by pardoning violent Jan. 6 felons in his first days in office.

In Mitchell’s case, the judge granted a defense motion that cited a state law allowing legislators to delay legal matters when they’re in session.

Early on a Monday morning last April, Mitchell, a first-term senator, allegedly broke into the home her late father had shared with her stepmother to retrieve belongings. She was charged with first-degree burglary but declined to resign her seat and survived all attempts to cancel her vote or oust her.

In 2024, Republicans offered a motion to prohibit any member who’s been charged with a crime of violence from voting on bills until the chamber’s Ethics Committee weighed in on their case. The motion failed. The Ethics Committee met briefly but agreed to wait to take action after the resolution of Mitchell’s criminal case.

At the time of Mitchell’s arrest in 2024, the DFL held a 34-33 margin over the GOP in the Senate. The two parties are now tied at 33 because Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, died in December.

A special election to replace Dziedzic is set for Tuesday with a DFLer heavily favored to win. Murphy said she expects the new senator to arrive next week.