Politics Friday: Lawmakers outline their priorities for the 2026 legislative session

This is Politics Friday on NPR News. I'm Brian Baxt. It's difficult to fathom all that's transpired since Minnesota lawmakers were last in session at the Capitol in June. A Democratic lawmaker was shot and killed. Another seriously wounded in a connected shooting. A school shooting left two children dead and more injured. Allegations of fraud stacked up. A federal campaign over immigration went sideways and left two citizens dead. So as the new legislative session gears up, many people will be demanding action from state lawmakers to respond to it all. Will that happen? And what might that look like? We'll speak this hour with four lawmakers who will have a say in what does or doesn't advance. We'll start with the House, where we had hoped to get the Democratic and Republican leaders on together. The schedule didn't quite work out that way. So House Speaker Lisa Dameth will get us rolling. She's in her second session atop the evenly divided house, and she's also running for governor. Busy times, Madam Speaker. It is busy, and we are ready to get this legislative session ready to go on Tuesday, the 17th. Well, we heard yesterday that the 10-week immigration operation by the federal government will wind down, and we also heard there will be economic recovery proposals before the legislature to help businesses and entities in financial distress, similar to the pandemic. How might that go over with you? We haven't seen language. We did hear that. I was very pleased to hear Tom Holman had talked about that drawdown, that their work here in the metro surge is completed. And so that drawdown is a good thing. As far as the economic impact of the federal immigration laws and the agents here being impacted, we'll have to see what that true impact is. The other thing, Brian, is remember, January 1st started the new paid family medical leave. And we have heard from businesses across the state of how that is impacting them already with more than expected people taking advantage of that program. So you might seek to revise that program some? We have to definitely look at it. There's concerns definitely from schools and from some small businesses that are concerned about having the appropriate staffing. Hospitality industry is definitely looking at some cuts and some things that are making it a little bit more difficult as employees are taking time off right now. So we have a lot ahead of us this year, Brian, to get to work for the state of Minnesota and look at where we're at. A couple more in particular related to this immigration operation. There are hold harmless proposals that schools might push forward because they saw attendance declines as students stayed home because they were too fearful to go in. Do you think that's something the legislature should do? We will look at the numbers and see where those land and what is needed. And what about local governments or state agencies that had extra police overtime for crowd control? That is another thing that we'll look at is all those numbers and all that data comes forward. We will be looking at it. Remember, though, Brian, our February forecast comes out probably the beginning of March, end of February. And we're looking at a deficit again this year, even though we reduced our spending. So as far as the work with the legislature, we're going to look at proposals. We're going to look at ideas and actual language before any final determinations are made. What about some of the policy that might come out of this? We've heard the Democrats say that they're going to push legislation around masking of agents and other identification, maybe some laws about being able to sue if people feel like their constitutional rights are violated. What policies might your caucus pursue in the way that Minnesota interacts with federal partners on immigration? We already had a bill last year. It was carried by Representative Max Reimer. House File 16, that actually talked about the way that the work is done, and it would prohibit local government leaders from not working with federal law enforcement agents here to work on federal immigration laws. So we already had that bill. It had a hearing in a committee last year. I think it was mid-year, and then it was on the floor as an amendment. And so we've already been talking about the way we work together. Any other proposals coming through, We're going to look at the language. What does that cooperation look like? What should locals be doing that maybe you think they're not doing now? So as you saw from the press conference by Tom Holman yesterday, that they are able to do this drawdown because there is cooperation with counties and with federal immigration law and those law enforcement agents here allowing some of the most dangerous illegal immigrants that have criminal charges against them that are maybe jailed, allowing that cooperation. That makes our communities safer. So federal law enforcement agents aren't on the streets looking for people, but they know where best they can find the people they're looking for. A lot of local jailers say that's happening now. Very possibly. And in some areas, it's not. OK. What about the masking stuff that the Democrats are saying? Do you anticipate that finding a good reception within Republican caucus that federal agents should show their faces? Well, I think as we look at that, the language is going to come forward in bills. Obviously, that's how we do our work in the legislature. And those bills will make it through committees and have full vettings. And whether or not they move on will be up to the committees. It's going to be bipartisan. As you well remember, we are still in a tie in the statehouse. And so it'll be bipartisan as those bills make their way through committees. Last one on this. Should Minnesota's BCA have a direct role in the Alex Breddy and Renee Macklin Good investigations? I think that work is going to go forward. You've seen some changes already in that, but full investigations of those tragic incidents need to take place. As you know, the intense focus on fraud was a precursor to some of this. What are a few of the proposals that you think will have traction to combat fraud? At the end of last year in the House, we tried to get forward the bill that the Senate had passed with 60 votes. So almost unanimously, an independent office of inspector general. I would say watch for that top of mind that offers the ability to have that independent OIG to look at fraud and stop fraud here in the state. That's one of the top that's already been through partway through the legislature. We just need to get that over the finish line. And then other areas to look at fraud, you know, meeting with our counties and knowing that they are working on antiquated systems that both slow down the work that the counties do to provide services that those that need it. we allocated some dollars for that last year. That is another thing we could look at is, do they have the dollars to upgrade those systems? Technology. Technology. But Brian, I'm talking about in our counties, they're using systems that were created in 1989 and 1994. If any of your listeners remember DOS and the dropdown and how you have to watch the spinning dial, that is what our counties are doing. And I've heard firsthand from my local county and counties across the state. So that's taking us way back here. Do you think that the U.S. Attorney's Office is still equipped in this moment to lead some of these fraud prosecutions? We've heard of a lot of drop off in their staffing. I think the U.S. Attorney's Office is ready to still be investigating fraud here in the state of Minnesota. It is record fraud, as we all know, and that work has to be done. Similarly, does the Attorney General's Office prosecution unit on fraud to that? Do you need to beef that up? I think we need to really identify what the Attorney General's Office has already been doing on fraud? Have they done enough? And why would they need more people? They have over 440 employees in the state attorney general's office. And my question is, how many are dedicated to fraud? And why is that not enough? Why do we have this fraud under the same AG that we've had for almost eight years now? It's almost lost here that we are in a tax filing season. The federal government passed a big tax change law last year. Sometimes the state lines their tax code up with what the federal government does. The revenue department estimates that some of those would be expensive. No tax on ticks, $65 million a year. No tax on overtime, $180 million a year. Senior subtraction, $185 million a year. Is that in the budget cards right now for Minnesota? We have to look at how we could conform with federal law. Minnesota is an expensive state to live in and to afford our lives. Obviously, we had an $18 billion surplus gone. We're headed toward a deficit. So any decision the legislature makes has to be made with caution. But if there are ways to conform to federal law to make Minnesota more affordable, that is what Minnesotans need. As you mentioned, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. The federal tax credit basically for education for students would be very helpful to families. and we would have to opt in or conform to those things. This is a bill that usually passes early in the session because of the tax filing season. Do you expect something early? I would hope there would be something early. I've heard from CPAs and business owners, business people that are looking at when is that conformity bill going to start moving. Our tax chairs are going to be working hard on that. Construction projects bill, how big might that get? What project mix? Bonding bill? Yes. We passed one last year, $700 million, on a cash bill of over $6 million. I would say bonding is in the discussions. I can't tell you the size right now. It's going to depend on that February forecast because bonding, the debt service is not forecasted in right now. But the projects that will be in there need to focus heavily on core infrastructure, roads, bridges, wastewater, the basic things across the state that are so needed for our residents. Day one, you'll be marking the loss of your colleague, Melissa Hortman. What will that look like? Day one is going to be a time to honor together Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate. We have that chance to honor Melissa Hortman's legacy, her impact on the state, her memory, and what our state has been through. I'm really grateful that the Democrat caucus chose Leader Zach Stevenson to lead his caucus because he was in the room when we negotiated. Melissa Hortman and I worked very well together and got things done. But Leader Stevenson, along with my ways and means chair, Chair Torkelson, they were in the room with us. He had a first row seat to see how in the House Democrats and Republicans could work together. I am looking forward to that continued work with Leader Stevenson. Last thing before I let you go, how are you going to balance your very powerful, prominent role as speaker with your campaign for governor? I mean, they're both very time-consuming exercises. And there are others in your caucus who are running for the same nomination that you want. Yeah, everything is up for election this year. Governor, lieutenant governor, obviously attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, the entire Minnesota House, entire Minnesota Senate, and a U.S. Senate seat. This is a big midterm election for all of us. I have no problems with balancing what I need to do. My first responsibility as we go in is as Speaker of the House and serving my constituents. And I'm a candidate, just like there are other candidates for other office. I have a great running mate, Ryan Wilson, and he will be on the campaign trail. Might it be a reason to get done early if things are not going well in the session so everyone can get out and do the campaigning for all the things you just talked about? The four caucus leaders, we are going to do the work for Minnesota that we need to. This state has to be affordable. We have to attack fraud and get things done. As four leaders, we can come together in a tie in the House and only a division, a Democrat hold by one vote. We can get this work done. We proved that we did it last year, and we can do it again in a timely manner. Speaker Damoth, thanks for your time. Thank you. That's Lisa Damoth, the top Republican in a tied Minnesota House and a candidate for governor. You're listening to Politics Friday on NPR News. I'm Brian Baxt. We heard the view from the leading Republican in the statehouse. How does it line up with how the top Democrats seized the session? We don't have to guess because DFL House Leader Zach Stevenson is here with us now. He's in his first session as the caucus leader put there by the tragic killing of Melissa Hortman. Representative Stevenson, thanks for joining us. Thank you. So let's start there with where we left off with with Leader Dameth. How much do you think the assassination of Melissa Hortman will hover over this year's session. Well, it obviously will have a big impact. You know, Melissa has been an institution in Minnesota politics for two decades. She's the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history, but she's also just been a part of our family for a very long time. In fact, only one member of the Minnesota House of Representatives can even remember what it's like to serve in the legislature without Melissa Hortman. So there's a big adjustment there. But also, it's the manner in which she left us that violent assassination that really cast a shadow over the legislature. And hopefully, it will be a reminder to all of us that the impact that rhetoric and misinformation can have, that it can lead to real violence. Do you think that the rhetoric can be contained? Or do you think that the times we in will make that difficult We obviously live in really charged times and a lot of difficult things have happened since the last session But I really hopeful that folks will be reminded by Melissa empty desk in the chamber of what we lost and why we lost it and that it will have an impact on how we treat each other at the Capitol Well, this session is starting just as the federal government says it will end its large-scale presence on immigration here in Minnesota. Does the public pressure on state lawmakers to consider Minnesota-specific guardrails recede with that pullout? No, there's a lot of work to be done. And let's start with this. We'll believe it when we see it. I hope that they're leaving, but we've heard a lot of misinformation coming from the federal government about Operation Metro Surge. So I'm not sure we can take them at their word that they're actually on their way out the door. I certainly hope they are. But any way you slice it, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to protect Minnesotans from future actions by the federal government and to have accountability for what happened here over the last six weeks. You know, Brian, no one is above the law, and that includes federal agents. You know, two people were shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota over the last month, but countless more people were hurt, shot, you know, thrown to the ground violently. So what do you want to see done for them? I want to see accountability. And it starts with the BCA being involved into the investigations of the shootings that happened here in Minnesota. You know, after George Floyd was murdered, Democrats and Republicans came together and created a unit inside the BCA that specializes in officer-involved shootings. The only way that Minnesotans can have faith in the outcome of the investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Preddy is for that unit to be involved. So we're going to fight really hard for that. We heard Tom Homan talk about it yesterday and Lisa Damoth a bit just to go about county cooperation, local cooperation with federal immigration. And a lot of that focus has been on the jails. Do you see those laws changing around the hold of inmates who might be transferred to custody of ICE? I'd call it a red herring, but it's a double red herring. There's two reasons. One, most counties in Minnesota, almost all, cooperate with ICE before and they cooperate now. And our DOC does, as Mr. Holman was forced to acknowledge when he first came here. This is not a problem that we face in Minnesota. But beyond that, it's a misnomer to say that Operation Metro Surge had anything to do with public safety. Only a small fraction of the people that ICE has arrested over the last six weeks had any criminal history at all. They've arrested 4,000 people, only identified 200 that had any criminal history. So over 90% of the people that ICE arrested never had any contact with our criminal justice system. We haven't even seen the sum total of the arrest data. I mean, they've only released the ones that they've wanted to showcase. That's right. That's because most people have had no interaction with the criminal justice system at all before. And so this is not a solution to a problem. And Operation Metro Surge had nothing to do with public safety in the first place. Well, the governor is calling for a rescue package for the hospitality industry, some low or no interest loans, maybe some fee waivers. Are you on board with that? Absolutely. In fact, I think it's just the tip of the iceberg. The impact that Operation Metro Surge and ICE's occupation of Minneapolis has on our financial well-being here in Minnesota goes far beyond those local businesses that should be helped. But you mentioned earlier the schools. We have a lot of schools that will really be struggling because a lot of kids stayed home and funding is determined by how many kids go to school. How about backfilling the overtime that some cities and counties faced? That's another example. I mean, Minnesota has really been hurt by Operation Metro Surge, and we're going to have to take a lot of actions at the legislature to try and address it. So you're an attorney. How do you balance the impulse to do something with the recognition that some of the measures that deal with federal agent conduct could be hard to enforce or hold up in court? Yeah, it is a fair consideration because we've seen ICE agents ignore the Constitution of the United States on the ground here in Minnesota. And so I don't have a lot of faith that they'll follow Minnesota law. But we have to stand up for Minnesotans and to try to protect them to the best of our ability, even if the odds are long, either at the legislature or on the streets. And so we are going to try to pass laws to limit the ability of agents to walk around in masks and yank people off the street and throw them into unmarked cars. This is America. We don't have secret police. We are going to fight for the BCA to be involved in that investigation. We are going to say that I shouldn't be at schools, that using kids as bait to get to their parents is barbaric and shouldn't happen. One more on this, the eviction moratorium. There's a lot of bubbling up that the legislature or the governor should do something. Is that something the legislature will take on? I would put that in the same basket as the other items we were talking about, is that there's been tremendous harm caused to the state of Minnesota and the people of Minnesota by ICE's presence in the state. And we are going to have to look at it in total and find ways to make people whole, whether it is with their rent or with the businesses or the schools or the cities. There's so many needs, so much harm. And I agree with what the governor said the other day. The federal government should pay for what they've done here. They broke it. They should buy it. Affordability is one of the words of the moment, especially in politics. What are a couple of things the legislature could do to realistically make life more affordable for people? Well, I would say a few things. One, on food prices, we should ban the practice of surveillance pricing where large companies using AI and video surveillance are able to adjust prices in real terms and drive them up if they think people can pay more. That's some Orwellian stuff that we should absolutely ban. We should take action on housing to build more housing in Minnesota so that we can get the cost of homes down for Minnesotans. But the big one is health care, where we need to take action to hold those large insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies accountable. They're making record profits as people's deductibles, their co-pays, and the cost of their prescription drugs are skyrocketing. What about tax cuts? You heard me ask the speaker about things like no tax on overtime, no tax on tips, those types of things. It's coming with a big price tag. They do. And the speaker also noted we are in a difficult financial circumstance in Minnesota, but we'll take a complete look at all of the conformity items we always do. Whenever the federal government passes a big tax measure, we have to take some time at the legislature and sort through it and decide what makes sense in Minnesota, what we can afford, how it fits into our system. I trust our tax chairs to work together. Not ruling it out, it sounds like. And work on it. Not ruling it out, though. Not ruling it out. Okay. The paid family leave program, you heard the speaker talk about that. It's a month and a half old. There are more than 38,000 signups, which is ahead of the projections at this point. Is this program going to be sustainable? And is there anything you might have to do to adjust it? Oh, it's absolutely sustainable. And I think the fact that it has such interest proves how much it was needed. I mean, we have so many parents that get to spend time with their new babies that otherwise wouldn't be able to do that. People who are spending time with their sick parents in their last days that otherwise wouldn't be able to do that. I think it's remarkable that the reaction to a successful program is to say we need to scale it back. I mean, this is something that every other developed country in the world has done for a long time, and clearly Minnesotans were ready for it. You helped write the marijuana legalization law. We're two and a half years into that. What's working, what's not, and what might the legislature have to do about it? I think the cannabis legalization is working as it was intended, and I think it has had very little of the negative consequences that people, the doomsayers, predicted. We knew it was going to take a long time to set up the market in Minnesota if we wanted to do it in a way that focused on small businesses. We're seeing that happen now. So I'm pleased with where we are on that. Has any progress been made behind the scenes around the gun legislation conversation about whether there should be additional restrictions on guns or ammunition? We're going to find out in a few days, because I'll just tell you, this is an issue where you'll sometimes hear from some of my Republican colleagues behind closed doors that they're interested in doing something. But then when the rubber meets the road, they suddenly lack the courage to hit the green button. Minnesotans clearly want action. They want weapons of war off the streets. This is an issue that's not controversial except inside the Capitol building. You get three blocks outside the Capitol. No one thinks you need a hundred round magazine to defend your home or go deer hunting. These things don't have places on our streets and we should be able to ban them. Leader Niska said very clearly that he wouldn't allow those bills to come to the floor. We're going to see if the rest of his caucus will stand with him on that. I was going to ask, is having a vote part of kind of the end of session bargain, even if it doesn't pass? You know, I'm not sure we need a bargain. We have some tools to force votes on the floor that are available to us in a regular session that aren't available to us in a special session. You know, the amendment process, the number of bills that are coming across the floor and some other tools. Not going to show all my cards right now, but we have some abilities to force votes. And we're going to do that. We're going to make sure that Republicans have every opportunity to demonstrate that their values are consistent with Minnesotans' values and not just with the gun lobby. Yes or no? Do you go to May 18th or are you out sooner? Well, I'll say probably yes. We always aspire to end early, but I've been watching the legislature for a long time now and I've been in it for eight years and I've never seen us end earlier than the day of adjournment. So it'd be nice. I'd love it, but I don't see it happening. House DFL leader Zach Stephenson, thanks for coming in. Thank you. You're listening to the Politics Friday Podcast. We'll be right back after this short break. The Minnesota Legislature is in session. Sign up for the Capital View newsletter and get daily updates from me, Dana Ferguson, and the NPR News Politics team. Go to nprnews.org and click on Newsletters at the top of the page. This is Politics Friday on NPR News. I'm Brian Baxt. Unlike the Minnesota House, the state Senate does have a majority party and a minority party, but just barely. Democrats hold the slim one-seat edge. The two leaders are entering their third session in their respective leadership roles, their DFL Senate Majority Leader Aaron Murphy and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. Hey, so much has been happening lately. Let's just start with the news that ICE is scaling down in Minnesota, according to the White House. Is that welcome news, Senator Johnson? Absolutely. It's absolutely. And Senator Murphy, I mean, do you believe it? I think it's important to trust what they're saying and to verify it. I know people are really on edge. And they, I think, want the relief of the force, the armed, masked federal agents out of our communities. But they're worried that the numbers of things that are coming at us from the federal government will persist. And the attention will now shift, maybe to what you guys might be able to do or should do in response. What are you thinking about? There are a number of proposals that my colleagues are bringing forward in response to the surge and the occupation of the last couple of months. Senator Port is working on legislation around masks and banning masks. I'm working on legislation that would require federal agents to follow Minnesota's law and render aid if they shoot somebody to make sure that they're providing CPR, which they didn't do when Renee Macklin-Good was shot and killed in her car. I think you'll see from a number of my colleagues legislation to create buffer zones or protections for essential spaces like schools, hospitals, and child care centers. So you will see some reaction. We've also spent and will continue to spend some time making a record of what we've experienced. So two weeks ago, we had a hearing in the Minnesota Senate where we took a lot of testimony on what people had experienced because they think it's important that we make a record and document what we've experienced. And I think you'll continue to see that in some of our committees as well. Senator Johnson, do you expect your caucus to have proposals in response to what's been happening the past couple of months here? Yeah, I certainly do. I think there's been a number of things that we've been looking at. There's some clarification points in law. One of the other things that I hope that we were able to document through some of these committee hearings too is just the failure of Minnesota state government, especially within the leadership positions, whether it's the governor or the AG that really led to this crisis in Minnesota in which the federal government tried to do work here enforcing immigration law that's been on the books for years years. Obama administration was doing a lot of work on getting immigration law enforced too. But now we see this divide in Minnesota and it's been one crisis after another since 2020 in which the George Floyd or COVID or you name it it been going on and on We tired in Minnesota of these constant crises that are going on due to a lack of leadership and looking forward to a change in that especially this November as elections come Specific to the immigration stuff, what failures are you pointing out involving the governor and the attorney general? Well, the federal government has been pointing out over and over, if we could have cooperation, and we've tried to get that to happen since December of this year. And yet you see the governor going out there and just telling people to resist and get in their faces and do those things. Instead, he should have been negotiating with the federal government and just saying, okay, what will get you out of here quicker? We're seeing those negotiations happen now, but that's two and a half months too late. I wish that would have happened on the forefront of this and not now, two and a half months later, after all the incidents have happened and the division once again in this state. Senator Murphy, quick response. I think it's really important that we operate from a foundation of truth in this incident in particular, but always in a representation of people. The federal agents that have been here have been reckless and lawless and in many cases violent. They have arrested citizens. They've arrested and detained people who are nowhere near what the president has said he wanted to do in this case. The numbers are staggering. The violations against people's human and civil rights are real. And when it comes to leadership, when you think that right now the president and the Congress are in the hands of Republicans and they could have spent this energy trying to fix our laws on immigration to make it possible for people to come from other places and come to live and work in our states, that would have been leadership, not what we've experienced. Senator Johnson, what role might the state have in propping up businesses that took a real hit during this operation, whether that's fewer customers or absent employees? That's a great question, Brian. For at least three years now, businesses have been really vocal about the mandates, the taxes, the increase in scrutiny that they're facing day in and day out. Minnesota has become a place where it's very, very difficult to grow and expand business. Nationally, we're kind of ignored. We're the backwater right now for any sort of growth in our business community. There's a number of things that we could be doing here across the state that really we're looking, we've been trying to for the last few years. Now we're going to look again this session to really make sure that our laws reflect both the employers' and employees' rights and just make sure that this is the place where Minnesota businesses can come and thrive and grow. That's what we want to see happen. I know the governor has made this issue about the $10 million for select businesses in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. Again, another crisis that he's created, and now Minnesotans are going to have to bear the cost for that. It's unfortunate, and we're going to see this over and over. It's a pattern that we've seen with the governor, and it's happening again now. So that $10 million program he laid out yesterday didn't hit well with you? I think it's really insensitive to the needs of businesses that they've been crying out for the last three or four years here as well. So, Senator Murphy, is that proposal just the starting point, or do you see it as something that your caucus will line up behind? In many ways, our caucus and members of the legislature are going to be doing an inventory of the harm to the state of Minnesota as a result of this surge. And I think the federal government should be on the hook for the cost of what we're experiencing. Senator Champion, who is our chair of jobs, is working on a package to respond to small businesses, which I think is really important. There have been many that have been closed. They've lost employees. But I also want to point out, and I talked yesterday with folks that represent the nursing home industry, and they're being very hard hit by this effort by this federal government on immigration, and I'm using air quotes on immigration, because they're losing a significant part of their workforce. And I think it's important for us to remember that across the state, we have people who are coming from other places that work in child care, health care, nursing homes, agriculture. So the impact on the workforce is real, and we're hearing it now from our nursing home industry. But to Senator Johnson's point that maybe just narrowing it to this specific incident might be too narrow, that he says that businesses around the state face a whole lot of challenges that maybe should be addressed as part of this. I think that we have worked very hard over the last number of years to make sure that our business community and our communities across the state are thriving. We've made significant investments in people and in affordability. That is good for our economy, and it shows up in our economic stats. Unfortunately, right now, what we've experienced is a real reversal, and it's caused a lot of harm. A lot of people are pushing for an eviction moratorium. Is that something your caucus will push ahead? I think you will hear from us efforts to make sure that we have relief for people who haven't been able to pay their rent because they haven't been able to go to work because they've been holed up inside. How might that go over with Republicans? Look, another program that doesn't work from Minnesota State Democrats, that's what we're worried about. And so even going back to this $10 million, if we had trust in the state government and being able to be effective with Minnesota taxpayer dollars, we could have more of a discussion on how we give relief to businesses. But as you've seen with the fraud allegations widely disseminated across the state, you know that the Minnesota state government right now is in a leadership crisis. They can't get out the dollars effectively. It's going to fraud. Why would we start up new programs again in which we can't even fix the ones that are existing on the books that are causing so many problems and making us really a national headline right now for all the wrong reasons? Let's stay with fraud here. The Senate has passed that Office of Inspector General bill to create one. it's still awaiting some House action. Establishing it is one thing, but staffing it and providing investigative resources is another. How far are you willing to go to get that, to make sure it's not just a in-name only? Right. That's a great point, Brian. Right now, the Attorney General and the Governor have all sorts of tools in their toolbox to root out the fraud that's happening in their agencies. This could be done right now, holding their bureaucrats accountable, also making sure they're going after the fraudsters that have done the fraud in the state of Minnesota. The OIG is another tool that we're trying to implement. It was 60 to 7, I think, off the Senate floor that we passed that. Another tool that can be used, but it has to be used effectively. We've already seen the laws right now that aren't being implemented in an effective way. Here's one that hopefully we'll be able to staff up and use in an effective way to really give people confidence that their dollars are being used in an effective way. We've heard from the Department of Human Services that they're going to increase the number of site visits. Those take people. Will the legislature be coming up with more money to help pay for more inspectors regularly to check in on whether providers are providing what they're supposed to? I think it's important to say this. It is good to see the Department of Human Services engaging. And it's been very frustrating for me and for my colleagues that there has been a seemingly lack of focused attention on what has been happening in the Department of Human Services. And I've spent a fair amount of time over the summer and fall, especially with the inspector general there, and I've learned a great deal about the work that needs to be done, including continued work. And I brought with me, I've got, I think, five pages worth of policy that our majority has passed since 2023 when we took the majority dealing with fraud, with grants, with reforms to human service programs, in the taxes area. We have done a lot of work. It's not sexy. Nobody's paying attention to it. But if you Google Senate DFL, you will see the litany of things that we have passed, including the Office of Inspector General, Heather Gustafson's legislation. legislation. And I hope that the House takes it up and moves it through the hearing process and tries to get it passed. They didn't do that last year. They took a vote on the last day of session, but they hadn't heard the legislation. This is important, Brian, and I know you probably want to move to your next topic. None of us support fraud. I am frustrated by the fact that the U.S. Attorney has been emptied of their prosecutors able to prosecute fraud. The Attorney General has done tremendous work. He may need more resources because of the absence of a prosecutorial part of our government when it comes to fraudsters. But we have done tremendous work. We're going to continue to push the Department of Human Services, and I'm grateful that they've made leadership changes there. It's important. We want to make sure that the programs that we've put in place for vulnerable people are there for the people who need them. That's our aim. Senator Johnson, quick response. Yeah, I'd just like to go back to the Attorney General's office there as well, too. I mean, look, they had the responsibility to be the watchdogs over these groups before. We didn't see any action at all out of them until after the federal prosecutors got involved and really made this a national headline. That really isn't the case. They don't mean dinner, but that's not really the case. We don't see that. He wasn't aggressive. He's more aggressive against our federal government, suing our federal government, than he is about holding our agencies accountable. We saw yesterday in the Senate hearing in which we saw the complicity that the AG had with the Feeding Our Future fraud folks and the evidence that was presented there as well, too. And so for you to say that he wasn't part of the problem is just to ignore the facts that are on the ground presently. Yeah, well, we'll disagree with the facts. And you and I won't do a Josh Hawley, Keith Ellison stick here. I think just for our audience, I think what the senator is referring to is that the attorney general met with some folks who later were found to be involved in the generic future incident. We saw that. We saw the evidence of that, the meeting that they had, the transcripts that were presented, the dollars that were transferred. We're going to move on here. A lot of things we're talking about here today cost money. The forecast, as we know, is coming out later in the month. But it's been bouncing around quite a bit. How much heat should be paid to that potential future deficit when there are pressing matters that we're talking about now, isn't there? Yeah, it's a matter of priorities. Look, usually our revenue forecast is fairly close to what is predicted. Our problem is, and the risk that we have is these programs, everything from DHS onward, don't really have good guardrails or caps on them. And so our risk is the increasing cost within the program spend themselves. And that can blow up a budget really quick. We're already looking in the out years, something like $3 billion deficit. But this February forecast will really determine what the outlook is here for the next couple of years. And I'm concerned that the costs are going to continue to escalate unchecked. And that's going to put Minnesotans in a very bad spot. Senator Murphy, I don't want to sound too pessimistic here, but there's not much money to work with. There's a partisan split at the Capitol that's as tight as ever. There are many of your peers that have personal ambitions and their gaze might be elsewhere. It doesn't sound like there's a recipe here for making many big policy moves this session. I think it's really important to be loud and clear that Minnesotans sent us to do the work of our future, to solve problems for them. And whether it is an election year or we're a divided legislature, we still have that purpose in our caucuses coming in to go to work for the people of Minnesota. There's one more unpredictable factor that I think we have to talk about when we think about the forecast, and that is the labile federal government, the uncertain and fickle federal government. And every time we turn around, this president and this White House are one more time threatening to remove funds from the state's budget willy-nilly at times. Sometimes they're having to reverse course because they've been sued and told by the court that they're wrong. It is very hard for us to understand what the outlook for our budget is going to be. when they are hanging levers like that over our heads. It does seem like the forecast is going to be fuzzy, fuzzier than usual here. Senator Johnson on guns. There's been a lot of talk in the last six months about whether Minnesota should revisit its gun laws. Do you expect there to be a vote? Well, I assume that there will be a vote in the Minnesota Senate. We've been really focusing on safety, Minnesota safety, whether it's schools or on the streets of Minnesota. and that's really an encompassing program. Mental health, it's about law enforcement training. It's about security grants and things like that. We're going to be rolling out a package that will talk a lot about what we think will help make Minnesotans safe. Democrats, on the other hand, are just focused on limiting constitutional rights, especially in the gun realm of things. And so we really want to look at the whole problem holistically. Unfortunately, it just seems to be a very narrow pathway on the other side of the aisle. Senator Murphy just as quick as you can are there the votes there for an assault weapons ban or other limitations within your caucus You will see a package coming from us that reflects the work that we did in the fall after the shooting and annunciation There will be a package that includes mental health, school safety, and yes, responding to the issue of guns. I got an email late last night from Jackie Flavin, the mother of Harper Moiske. They're going to be in the Capitol, not this next week, but the week after, doing a community sing. There are going to be desks in the Capitol from the children who lost their lives as a reminder for what we have lost. And as we head into this session, I think it is important to say that this interim has been an interim of gun violence in so many ways, whether it is the shootings that happened in June, annunciation, and the surge. I think we have to pay attention that we are coming back as a changed people. but dedicated to do the work. And I do want to touch on that because one of your dear colleagues, John Hoffman, he'll be back. He was shot nine times, as you both know. Having a survivor in your midst, does that change the way that these issues are debated or how you interact, Senator Johnson? Yeah, first of all, just so excited to have Senator Hoffman back in the chamber. We're going to be able on Tuesday to really celebrate him and his wife being back there, and it'll be really a good day of celebration for John and our body. But, yeah, I mean, it'll be something that we will be absolutely talking about and really let John, Senator Hoffman, have the opportunity to have his voice heard on what needs to be changed in Minnesota to prevent things like that, and we're very much open to that. Senator Murphy, I'll give you the last word on John Hoffman's return and what it might mean for the way that the Senate operates. You know, he will bring a profound experience to the debate that we're going to have this next session, an experience that I hope none of the rest of us ever experience. And I think it's important to also say to the listeners that in many, many ways, there are people who didn't suffer what Senator Hoffman did, but they did suffer a loss. It's shaping all of us in the way that we are contemplating this work. And I do hope that when we come to the debates on the floor, that we're mindful of all that we've experienced and bring the care, the necessary care to that debate. Senator Aaron Murphy, the majority leader, thank you. Thank you. And Senator Mark Johnson, the Republican minority leader, thank you. There's so much we could have gotten to, and I hope you'll be back as the session unfolds. Thank you. Sounds great. And now some sounds and voices from the week in Minnesota politics. We good to go? Well, good morning, everyone. We're continuing to make the case that Minnesota has stood up for their neighbors, that Minnesota has asked that this surge of folks leave. We're very much in a trust but verify mode, but it's my expectation, and we will hear more from them I think in the next day or so, that we are talking days, not weeks and months of this occupation. And it's an expectation. It's like Governor said, even if it's a matter of days for them to leave, to us it's a matter of months to recover from it. It's going to take us a long time for small businesses to get back on our feet and learn how to walk again, let alone run. And we welcome everyone to today's hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin. Thank you kindly, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Attorney General Bondi. You've got the best lawyer's job in America because your mission is justice and your clients are the American people. Because they don't want to address anything in their jurisdiction. They're elected to represent people in their jurisdiction. We prosecuted illegal aliens. The fact is ICE is running rampant and you are not investigating them. When they killed Mr. Prette and Ms. Good, that was an execution. And you did not investigate it. And you tried to investigate Ms. Good's widow. And you tried to investigate Mr. Prette. They were executed like Kristi Noem executed her dog. And that was wrong. And you should investigate those people. And you should investigate anybody that uses a weapon, a federal official or not, for civil rights violations. I yield back the balance. The gentleman yields back his time. Loss of life demands scrutiny, not spin. In Minnesota, sharply conflicting accounts have emerged. So we want to get to the truth today. Tom Emmer represents Minnesota's 6th congressional district and serves as the House Majority Whip. I look forward to Attorney General Ellison being forced to answer for his role in tying the hands of law enforcement in order to protect criminals. It's a shame that his partner in crime, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry, declined the invitation to testify here today. Our first witness will be Harry Niska, represents District 31A in the Minnesota House of Representatives and serves as a Republican floor leader. Minnesota had been proud of our reputation for clean and good government, but recently we've become a cautionary tale of chaos, corruption and fraud. Commissioner Schnell, has ICE or anyone else at DHS attempted to coordinate their operations with state and local law enforcement, according to your knowledge? Senator, I believe this is one of the challenges and may speak a little bit to the chairman's earlier question, that there has not been a planful approach. There has not been efforts to coordinate or discuss their targets. We have not been provided with a list of targets. Are you aware of training for activists, Mr. Ellison? Yeah, I'm aware of that. I mean, it's common for people to use their First Amendment right to protest things that they don't believe are right. Were you aware of the First Amendment activity, sir? Yeah, were you aware of the first amendment? Yeah, sit there and smirk. Smirk. It's sick. It is despicable. Are you asking me for comment, Senator? Because everything you said was untrue. It was a nice theatrical performance, but it was all lies. Good morning. I'm Tom Holman. The board is our president Trump. I'm going to read a statement real quick. Then after I read the statement, I'll take questions. I have proposed and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week. The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. there are going to be accountability on the things that happen but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state the federal government needs to be responsible you don't get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it so we're going to be asking minnesota i know you've been through a lot i know that uh we're still in the deep part of winter but it's going to be 40 today here the sun's going to be shining probably a pretty good metaphor for spring is out there, summer over the horizon, but it's going to take a lot of work. I am so much looking forward to that sun and time outdoors this weekend. We've all been cooped up for so long amid cold temperatures and relentless news. It's our last chance to recharge before the session sprint begins. Dana Ferguson, Peter Cox are bound for the capital duty next week and probably for the next few months, at least I think they are. Well, let's just ask. Dana, are you ready? No. Peter? I could use another week between now and then. Okay, but before we shift to session, I just do want to reflect on the major news of the week, the immigration agent pullout. There were a lot of questions yesterday about whether city and state leaders struck some sort of deal with the feds. Any evidence of that, Dana? Yeah, and that was a question that I posed to the governor yesterday. There was talk about this final agreement that was reached between Holman, the governor, and local leaders in the Twin Cities. And the governor said, you know, there was no concession that he made to get this agreement. There wasn't really any change on the part of the state. The Department of Corrections had been assisting when folks got done with their sentence, handing them over dice. And we're hearing from sheriffs that they're doing the same thing they were doing the day before. Exactly. So unclear. And Peter, you know, there's been polling out recently about whether people agree with or have strong feelings toward this immigration action toward the leaders of the state and federal governments. What does it show? Yeah, so Star Tribune and CARE 11's poll showed 63% of Minnesotans disapprove of the job or operation of ICE here. And those numbers grow in the metro area and the suburbs. The same polling also found Governor Walz's approval rating at about 50%. That's pretty evenly split there. Klobuchar is a little better than him statewide at 54%. Amy Klobuchar is running for governor. Yeah. And a governor poll from Emerson found she's leading all the top GOP candidates, some by double digits. And also that Peggy Flanagan and Andy Craig, both DFLers, are leading Michelle Tafoya, the GOP top candidate, too. Still lots of time to go there. But Governor Walz has been sort of a crisis governor in his two terms and another one's in front of him. He put out aid packages. What's in it? Yeah, he's proposing $10 million to go out to small businesses that were harmed by the immigration enforcement action in Minnesota. He stood with a variety of them who had said their customers weren't coming in, employees weren't able to get to work because of fears of ICE detention. So he's saying it's important that lawmakers step in, do something to provide some support to help get through this. And Dana, staying with you here, there's going to be an opening day tribute to Melissa Hortman. And tell us a little bit about it. Yeah, that's right. We expect to see the Senate and the House come together in the House chamber. Notable that this is going to be the first time that all lawmakers are coming together after the assassination in the summer. So they're going to memorialize her, have time to sort of grieve together and talk about the person that she was, the leader that she was, and then have therapy dogs there to decompress. And Peter, in the hallway, people are going to notice something they haven't at the Capitol, which are what? Yeah, there's going to be screening coming into the Capitol, which has not been there before. People walk through metal detectors and put bags through conveyor belts to be checked on their way in. So that will change the Capitol a lot as we go in. Dana, vibe check here. What are our realistic chances of seeing a lot happen this year? I am a little skeptical is what I would say about that. we're heading into an election year. There's the narrow divide in the legislature. There are so many things that are going to be sort of pulling at these folks in terms of what should get their attention. We're going to see a lot of people at the Capitol, I would guess, really passionate about all these issues. And I don't know, I just don't have a lot of faith that they'll get much done. Peter, we talked last week about how the caucuses might change the governor's race. We did see some movement. What happened? Yeah, so Scott Jensen dropped out of the governor's race. He's a Republican who was the nominee last time for that. Yeah, but he was a distant fourth in polling in the caucus. And then Jeff Johnson, a former St. Cloud City Councilman, dropped out after a tragedy in his family. His daughter was killed. I expect over the next few months, as funding dries up for some of these candidates, they might drop out before the convention. But that's unclear right now. And Dana, we haven't heard the last of Scott Jensen, though. No, he's still running, and we expect to hear more from him ahead of convention and the election. And you expect more churning in these races, too? I would think so, yeah. I think folks are going to get the memo if they have backing or if they don't, and the field is going to slim up. There's still some ways to go, as you mentioned, until November, and so a lot of twists and turns yet to come. But our time's up for today. We spoke with the four caucus leaders at the Capitol, Republican House Speaker Lisa Damoth, DFL House Leader Zach Stevenson, DFL Senate Majority Leader Aaron Murphy, and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. Thanks for catching those on the Politics Friday podcast. This show was produced by Matt Alvarez with assistance from Lucas Ford Levin and Ben Revere. Our technical team for today's show, Cliff Bentley, Derek Ramirez, and the Alex Simpson. Emily Reese took care of our newscast. We'll be back next week with the first look at the legislative session. Until then, stay safe, get outside, and have a great weekend.