Hot dish 02.07.24

By Ryan Faircloth

Good morning. The Minnesota Senate DFL Caucus picked a new leader Tuesday to replace Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who stepped down from the post to focus on her cancer treatment. DFL Sen. Erin Murphy of St. Paul will be the new Senate majority leader, my colleague Rochelle Olson writes. Democrats chose Murphy in a closed-door meeting Tuesday.

Murphy gave a brief statement to reporters Tuesday and thanked Dziedzic, whom she said would remain a leader in the caucus.

“She showed us that if we choose to stick together and act together we can do important things for the people of Minnesota to improve their lives,” Murphy said. “And we, together, are committed to the same thing.”

Murphy is a more progressive DFLer who ran for governor in 2018, receiving the party’s endorsement before losing to Gov. Tim Walz in the primary.

Minnesota GOP chairman David Hann criticized the selection of Murphy in a statement Tuesday, accusing her of having an “extreme record.”

“The election of Senator Erin Murphy by the Senate DFL Caucus to be the next Senate Majority Leader should be a warning sign to Minnesotans,” Hann said.

Republicans sought to blame Mayorkas for illegal immigration at the southern border. Emmer said the secretary’s “malfeasance and active neglect has fueled the worst border crisis in our history,” and he accused Mayorkas of not enforcing federal laws and lying to Congress.

“I believe that [if] we are serious about getting our borders under control and protecting our communities, impeachment is the necessary response,” Emmer said.

Several U.S. House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, labeled Republicans’ attempted impeachment of Mayorkas as a political stunt. They said the charges leveled against Mayorkas were untrue and none of them met the Constitution’s standard of treason, bribery or ‘’high crimes and misdemeanors.’’

Democrats also blasted Republicans for walking away from negotiations on a bipartisan Senate border security bill. Emmer and other leading House Republicans declared their opposition to the Senate border bill on Tuesday even though it includes measures meant to reduce illegal border crossings and give the president power to suspend asylum claims in some cases.

SRO: State House and Senate DFLers announced a plan Tuesday to clarify a law passed last year that set use-of-force standards for school resource officers. The Minnesota law prohibiting school resource officers from using prone restraints on students had been criticized by law enforcement groups across the state and prompted some police to pull their officers out of schools.

“We spent the past several months incorporating stakeholder feedback to craft a bill that provides clarity to law enforcement while guaranteeing the safety of our students,” House Public Safety Committee chairwoman Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, said in a statement. “I look forward to continued work on the legislation and conversations with our law enforcement partners and other stakeholders.”

NEVADA: President Joe Biden easily won Nevada’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday night, defeating author Marianne Williamson and other lesser-known challengers. Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, the Minnesotan challenging Biden for the nomination, was not on the ballot because he missed the state’s filing deadline.

In Nevada’s symbolic Republican presidential primary, Nikki Haley was trounced as voters overwhelmingly chose the “none of these candidates” option. Former President Donald Trump chose not to compete in the primary, instead focusing on Nevada’s GOP caucuses that will be held Thursday.

PARTY: The Minnesota DFL announced Wednesday morning it’s filed a petition with the state Supreme Court challenging the Legal Marijuana Now Party’s major party status. The DFL says Legal Marijuana Now did not meet the statutory requirements to qualify as a major party.

“Every major party is expected to demonstrate that they are a serious organization by building their party and engaging voters in dozens of districts across Minnesota. The Minnesota DFL and the Minnesota GOP are the only two political parties that meet that threshold,” Minnesota DFL chairman Ken Martin said in a statement.

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