In a petition to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Democrats in the state House accuse Republicans of acting "unlawfully" when they conducted House business on Tuesday, including electing a speaker, with no DFL members present.

The debate over whether Minnesota House Republicans acted lawfully when they elected a speaker is headed to the state Supreme Court. Democratic-Farmer-Labor Secretary of State Steve Simon and the House DFL have filed lawsuits to stop Republicans from taking control of the House for the next two years,

Following the contentious first day of the 2025 Minnesota Legislative session, where members of the DFL failed to show, partisan tensions are rising as lawmakers claim House Republicans attempted to select a speaker.

On January 14, 2025, the DFL filed a lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to declare that Republicans acted unlawfully when they organized the house in the absence of a quorum.

It’s a rocky start to the Minnesota legislature session. DFL House members failed to show up at the Capitol, but Republicans conducted business as usual and elected a house speaker. FOX 9’s Bill Keller has more on the story.

Half the Minnesota House chamber stands empty as DFL lawmakers made good on their threats to not show up for the opening session at the State Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Republicans moved ahead Tuesday and elected D.

Minnesota state leaders head into day two of the 2025 legislative session, but not everyone is in attendance. Many DFL members continue to boycott the start of the session as they argue a special election needs to take place before the body can fairly move forward.

As the clock struck noon on Tuesday, all desks were empty in the DFL half of the House chamber; Republicans pressed ahead declaring a quorum.