MN Democrats Conduct SECRET Illegal Swearing-in Ceremony; What House GOP MUST Do Now

Democrats are engaging in a ploy to obstruct government proceedings by not allowing the Minnesota Legislative branch from organizing and functioning as a branch of government. Leading this plot is Secretary of State Steve Simon, a retired judge and all 66 members-elect of the Democrat caucus.

Yesterday, in an unprecedented and illegal move, House Democrats secretly met at the Minnesota Historical Center and conducted a mass swearing-in ceremony with retired judge, Kevin Burke. Democrats made this move to try and bypass the official swearing-in ceremony that takes place at noon on the first day of the legislative session, which they will not attend in an attempt to prohibit a quorum, based on their interpretation of the law.

But Minnesota law is clear that legislators do not swear in until after the House comes to order. That same law (MN Statute 3.05) requires their attendance as well.

If you aren’t aware of the backstory on why we’re here, I laid it out in our article last week. But here’s the cliff notes:

• Following November’s election, Republicans and Democrats were both determined to have won 67 seats each, creating a rare tie in the Minnesota House.
• In House District 40B, a Democrat broke the law by running in a district he did not reside in, and a judge ruled that he was unable to take office on January 14th (start of legislative session)
• With a 67-66 lead, Republicans plan to vote for their Speaker-designate candidate and will likely win the presiding officer position
• Republicans also plan to challenge the results of Representative Elect Brad Tabke who was announced as a winner by a margin of 14 votes, but the Scott County attorney acknowledged that an election official threw 20 ballots in the trash and therefore, were not counted
• Democrats threatened to not show up for the start of the legislative session, arguing they can hold up a quorum because they believe Republicans need 68 members to conduct business (not true).

Democrat Secretary of State Steve Simon stated last week that he believes he is the presiding officer of the Minnesota House until a Speaker is elected and he has determined that a quorum requires 68 members to conduct business. However, there are several issues with this.

First of all, the Minnesota Constitution DOES NOT state the Secretary of State is the presiding officer of the House. In fact, Article IV, Section 15 specifically states that the “house shall elect its presiding officer.”

Secretary Simon is argued in his letter that his authority comes from MN Statute 5.05 that says:

But the “presiding” language in this statute is a ceremonial role, not an authoritative role. If Simon hopes to use this statute to prohibit the members of the House from electing their presiding officer he would be violating Article IV, Section 15 of the MN Constitution AND Article III, Distribution of Powers.

The Minnesota Constitution is the supreme law of the land. No state statute can override what is written in the Constitution. If Democrats don’t like what is in the Constitution, they can work to amend it, which is spelled out in Article IX.

While all this is happening, Governor Tim Walz has been silent. There’s a major constitutional crisis in Minnesota, and the Governor is not standing up for the rule of law.

What Republicans MUST Do:

Every single one of the 67 Republican Representative-elects should show up at noon on January 14th, as is prescribed in the Constitution. If Democrats do not show up and take the oath of office, they should not be considered members of the Minnesota House until they do. The process is laid out in MN Statute 3.03.

Two scenarios for quorum

• 67 Republican Representatives-elect and 66 Democrat Representatives-elect show up at noon on January 14th, constituting a 133 member body, thus meaning 67 members is a majority for a quorum according to Article IV, Section 13 of the Minnesota Constitution.
• 67 Republican Representatives-elect and no Democrats show up at noon on January 14th, upon swearing-in, the body has only 67 members, which means 34 members constitute a majority needed for a quorum.

If Secretary of State Steve Simon attempts to preside over the Minnesota House against the will of the body, he must be removed from the chambers for violating Article III and Article IV of the Minnesota Constitution.

I imagine he’ll announce there is not a quorum and will state that the House is adjourned, without calling for a vote on adjournment. I also believe he’ll probably remain at the Speaker’s rostrum, thinking he is denying a Republican from assuming the presiding officer position.

What is needed then is for a member of the Minnesota House to congregate the members together and conduct business in the front of the house chambers where the cameras are capturing the process. The members then should elect the Speaker of the House. Whoever wins that position shall take the Speaker’s rostrum and have the sergeant-at-arms remove the Secretary of State from the Minnesota House chambers.

Sound intense? This is the fight that Democrats have brought to the legislative branch by causing a constitutional crisis. It’s the duty of Republicans to stand for the rule of law and fight with all their power to stop the executive branch from violating the Constitution by usurping their powers.

I do believe Secretary of State Steve Simon should also be charged with multiple different criminal acts if he goes through with his threat. There are several state laws being broken, but if there is a federal prosecutor willing to do his job, Simon should be held to the same law that was used against protesters on January 6th in Washington D.C. – obstruction of government operations.

Minnesota is a Constitutional Republic with important separations of power. A member from the executive branch of government cannot prohibit the legislative branch from organizing just as he cannot prohibit the judicial branch as well. Democrats created this whole situation by trying to cheat in the House District 40B election. When they got caught and subsequently became the minority party, they decided to obstruct government operations with a ridiculous constitutional crisis.

Time to show us you have a spine, House Republicans! We’re behind you on this one.