MN Democrats Hold Private, Early Swearing-In At History Center

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota House Democrats were sworn into office Sunday evening in a private ceremony at the Minnesota History Center in a covert parlimentary tactic. State Republicans say the ceremony was illegal.

Typically, state representatives are sworn into office on the first day of session, which would have been Tuesday. But Democrats said they are preparing to deny the 68-member quorum required to conduct House business until successful power-sharing negotiations conclude with Republicans.

"Last week we publicly stated our reasons for denying quorum – we would like Republicans to honor the will of the voters," said DFL Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman.

"In the event Democrats choose to deny quorum, we wanted to be sure to have all our members properly and legally sworn in and we did that this evening."

Republicans say the tactic was sneaky and underhanded.

"The public and media must demand accountability for the calculated collusion among staff, legislators, and others to hide a legislative swearing-in ceremony from the public—a brazen attempt to undermine transparency and dodge oversight," wrote former Republican operative Michael Brodkorb.

The November elections initially left the state House evenly divided, with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. This rare deadlock forced the two parties to negotiate a power-sharing agreement for key leadership roles in the chamber.

However, in December, a court ruled that Democratic Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson had violated state residency requirements. Johnson subsequently stepped down, giving Republicans a 67-66 advantage.

Speaker-designate Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth stated that the power-sharing agreement is on hold until another tie is established.

"The power-sharing agreement that Speaker-Designate Hortman and I were working on, was in the event — or with the realization — that there was a tie," Demuth told KARE 11 in a Dec. 23 interview.

"If there is not a tie, then we will fully work as the majority caucus, as things continue to play out through the courts. If it would go back to a tie, then we're ready to go on that power-sharing agreement, but right now as it stands, the Republicans in the Minnesota House are in the majority."

But Hortman and Democrats disagree.

"Minnesotans voted for equal numbers of Democratic and Republican state representatives. Honoring the will of the voters means governing together under shared power," Hortman said earlier this month.

The Minnesota Constitution states that "A majority of each house constitutes a quorum to transact business” and Minnesota state law 2.021 states that the Minnesota House is composed of 134 members. A majority of 134 members is 68 members, Hortman noted.

Republican Rep. Harry Niska disagreed with the premise, stating on social media; "Basic legal error here: The Minnesota Constitution does not set 68 as the quorum. It says '[a] majority of each house constitutes a quorum to transact business.' On January 14, there will be (at most) 133 members of the Minnesota House, so a quorum is 67 members."

The Minnesota Legislative session begins Tuesday.

The House and Senate — which is currently tied at 33-33 — are set to hold special general elections on Jan. 28. Each chamber needs to fill one more seat.