House Republicans' big victory

The House DFL finally returned to work Thursday but it came with a heavy price tag. While the House DFL played hooky, pressure built up on the DFL. Apparently, getting paid for not working wore on voters' nerves. In the end, the DFL had to surrender to the MN GOP. In the end, the DFL said yes to Lisa Demuth as Minnesota's first black female speaker for the entire 2-year session.

While that's a major concession by the DFL, it wasn't their biggest concession. MPR reports that "Republicans will succeed in establishing a new fraud prevention committee and will keep the majority on that committee for the two-year term. The panel will have a wide berth to look into oversight of programs by the administration of Gov. Tim Walz. But it won’t be able to subpoena witnesses or materials without the support of at least one committee DFLer." Further, this new committee will have a 5-3 GOP majority for the entire 2-year session.

Tom Hauser's report on the negotiations is a good report:

With fraud running rampant for the past 3+ years, especially including Minnesota's Feeding Our Futures scandal, Democrats will have that hanging over their heads through Election 2026. Anyone thinking that won't weigh the DFL's vulnerables down is kidding themselves. With plea deals already being agreed to and with the first trial starting Monday, Democrats shouldn't think that they've dodged the thunderstorm just yet. Check this out:

House leaders said they were hopeful that they could finish one on time. And they said the negotiations could serve as a model for striking a budget deal. But they noted that the bumpy start to the legislative session caused some tension between the parties. "I think we’ll be able to work together well, but it will take some time," Hortman said. "Certainly, everybody’s still pretty angry at each other."

That might be the most truthful statement I've ever hear from Melissa Hortman. Based on conversations I've had with GOP legislators, I'd say we've got confirmation.