Feb 28, 2025 Story by: Editor
Over the past two years, Minnesota Democrats leveraged their legislative majority to advance what has been described as the most ambitious progressive agenda in the country, often referred to as the “Minnesota Miracle.” However, this political landscape is now shifting with the election of a new Republican House speaker.
Rep. Lisa Demuth has made history as the first Republican woman to lead the chamber and the first Black individual from either party to hold the position in St. Paul. Despite these milestones, Demuth downplays their significance, instead focusing on legislative priorities.
She stresses the importance of restoring balance within the Legislature and curbing government spending.
“We cannot continue to raise taxes on Minnesotans because they can’t afford their lives at this point,” Demuth said. “Tax increases are off the table.”
Her rise to the position follows weeks of uncertainty in the Minnesota House, which was embroiled in disputes after the chamber convened for its 2025 session last month.
Republicans held a narrow one-seat majority, but Democrats, contesting the results of two state House races, refused to attend legislative sessions.
As a result, the House lacked the quorum required to conduct business, leading to seven consecutive adjournments after only the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence.
The deadlock ended with a power-sharing agreement between both parties. Initially, Republicans will lead legislative committees and set the agenda. However, a special election scheduled for March 11—which Democrats are heavily favored to win—is expected to create an even split of 67 seats per party. Demuth is likely to remain Speaker despite the shift.
Among her key priorities is tackling fraud, an issue that has drawn criticism toward Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s administration—Walz being the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. One of the most high-profile scandals involved a $250 million scheme that misappropriated funds from a federal program designed to provide meals for underprivileged children.
“There’s been record fraud over the last six years with Gov. Walz at the helm of the state,” Demuth said. “There hasn’t been any serious consideration given to stopping that fraud.”
(In response, Walz issued an executive order in January to establish a state fraud investigations unit and proposed legislation to strengthen oversight of government funds.)
Demuth spoke with POLITICO shortly after the political impasse in St. Paul was resolved.
How do you see cooperation with Democrats moving forward, given recent tensions?
We acknowledge the fundamental differences in perspective regarding both past events and the current state of the Legislature. Right now, we have a narrow 67-66 majority, but we understand that bipartisan cooperation is necessary to pass any bills, as a minimum of 68 votes is required. While the initial phase has been tense, we recognize the importance of working together, and that is what Minnesotans expect of us.
I believe the co-chair model within committees will function effectively. Since bipartisan support is essential for advancing legislation, it makes sense to foster collaboration early in the committee process.
The one exception is the fraud committee, which will remain under Republican control for the next two years with a 5-3 split and a Republican chair. This reflects our commitment to not only acknowledging fraud but also implementing solutions to prevent it.
Why is addressing fraud a priority?
There’s been record fraud over the last six years with Gov. Walz at the helm of the state. There hasn’t been any serious consideration given to stopping that fraud. We know that there’s over $610 million of proven fraud in the state of Minnesota, yet there’s been no commissioners that have lost their jobs, and there’s been no accountability and meaningful change to prevent it going forward.
Minnesotans are tired of funding fraud here in the state. They know their tax dollars are going out to fraud where it hasn’t been stopped. With having a Republican chair at the helm of the committee, we’re able to have the hearings as necessary and then potentially move policy through to stop that.
When you talk to people across the state, they can’t believe it’s been allowed to go on this long. And so I would say it’s a Minnesotan priority to stop fraud here in our state.
Republicans won the House majority, albeit temporarily, despite Gov. Walz winning Minnesota by over four percentage points. What factors contributed to GOP success in state House races?
Minnesotans watched what was taking place in our state over the last two years with full Democrat control. We know that we spent an $18 billion surplus and raised taxes and fees on every Minnesotan by another $10 billion. So just the fiscal spending [under] one-party control, [we] needed to make a change. And that’s what voters said.
It’s really important to recognize, though, that we [won] six GOP seats in which Kamala won on [the presidential] ticket in that area. So voters were really saying we need something different here at a state level.
As the first Republican woman and first Black person to serve as House Speaker, how do you view these achievements?
I know that I am the most qualified to be the speaker of the House for the next two years just based on merit. The fact that I am the first woman to hold the seat for the Republicans and then the first Black lawmaker to hold the seat for Democrats or Republicans is something that I acknowledge, but I definitely didn’t lead on that.
To me, it’s merit first. Are you the person that is most qualified to do the job? That is the priority.
Over the last two years, there wasn’t a lot of bipartisan work at all. I dare to say almost none. I’m a different kind of leader than you’ve seen in the past, and that is not being disrespectful to any previous leaders. I am very collaborative, both within my party and as much as possible trying to find commonalities across the aisle, trying to find those things that we can find agreement on.
With the Trump administration seeking major changes at the federal level, how do you see those shifts affecting your role in Minnesota?
Clearly Americans decided to send President Trump back for a second term. That was overwhelming. Both the popular and the electoral votes proved that. People are looking for change. Knowing that there’s going to be changes as far as wasteful spending, that is a positive thing. Knowing that there is a positive movement toward more safety and cracking down on criminal activity — that’s a good thing.
Right now I am completely focused, though, on the work that we’re doing here in Minnesota. Knowing that we have a four-week delay in our session because of Democrats not showing up for work really puts the pressure on us to get our work done. We are really focusing here on the state and what we can do and control and move forward in the best way for Minnesotans.
Minnesota faces a projected $5 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium. How do you approach budgeting given these challenges?
This budgeting cycle needs to recognize the fact that we do have that deficit that is looming over our state. Again, [we’re] coming off of a record surplus of $18 billion and record spending and growing the budget by another $10 billion.
We have been saying for the last two years as House Republicans in the minority, “This is not sustainable. We are headed for a path that is going to put our state in jeopardy.” Yet those cautions were completely cast aside and not taken seriously. We’re now living in that reality.
This is the time to start making wise decisions. We’re not going to just cut across the board, but we have to get rid of the waste that is found in fraud. We have to take a look at everything almost line by line and make wise spending decisions.
We cannot continue to raise taxes on Minnesotans because they can’t afford their lives at this point. Tax increases are off the table.
Source: Politico
