Minnesota Democrats ask state Supreme Court to resolve state House power struggle

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and House Democrats have asked the state’s highest court to intervene in a partisan power struggle that has roiled the start of the 2025 legislative session session, as the standoff extended into a second day Wednesday.

Simon, a Democrat, petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court late Tuesday to declare that he legally remains the presiding officer in the Minnesota House, for now, and that Tuesday’s election of GOP leader Lisa Demuth as speaker was invalid. He asked the court to back his position that 68 members are needed for a quorum to conduct any official business in the chamber.

“Because the members of the House lacked this constitutionally required quorum on January 14, Representative Demuth has not properly been elected speaker and the House cannot transact business,” Simon’s lawyers wrote. “Until a quorum is present and a speaker is properly elected, the Secretary remains the House’s presiding officer and his role may not be usurped.”

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Source: apnews.com