ST. PAUL – House Democrats on Thursday ended their weeks-long shutdown of state government and the Minnesota House officially came to order.
House Democrats did not appear at the Capitol for the first day of the 2025 session on Jan. 14 and remained absent in the weeks since. Their arrival Thursday came after Republicans and Democrats announced they reached an organizational agreement Wednesday.
Republican Leader Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, will serve as the Speaker of the House for the next two years. In addition, Republicans will hold an operating majority in a brand-new Fraud and Agency Oversight Committee they created to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in state government.
“It’s exciting to finally get down to official business helping the people of Minnesota,” said Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Cloud. “This shutdown had gone on too long and, unfortunately, it was costing the people of our state the service they deserve and expect from their elected officials. House Republicans have continued working to lay the groundwork on priorities we share with Minnesotans and now we can officially start putting those wheels in motion. We’re ready to roll.”
Demuth’s election as House Speaker elevates her to the second-most powerful elected position in state government. She is the first Republican Speaker of the House in six years.
“I’m so happy that my good friend, Rep. Demuth, who will be our House Speaker for the full two years of this biennium,” Perryman said. “That’s a big win for Minnesotans across the state because not only is she an A-plus leader, but she will restore balance at the Capitol, which we’ve been missing with one-party control the last two years.”
Republicans will have full control of committee hearings and committee chairs for the next five weeks, until a March 11 special election takes place to resolve a vacancy in House District 40B.
If the special election in 40B returns the House to a 67-67 tie, committee structures will revert to the co-chair model that had been tentatively agreed upon in the weeks following the November election. That includes equal Democrat and Republican members on all committees, except for the committee on fraud remaining in Republican control, per the organizational agreement.
-30-