Hot Dish 02.14.24

By Ryan Faircloth

Good morning. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, an unprecedented move by a Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration for its handling of security at the southern border. The tight 214-213 vote came a week after House Republicans’ first try to impeach Mayorkas failed.

President Joe Biden called the impeachment of his Cabinet secretary a “blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games.’’

Minnesota’s congressional delegation broke along party lines in the impeachment vote.

Republican Reps. Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad voted to impeach Mayorkas. Democratic Reps. Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, Dean Phillips and Angie Craig voted against the move.

“Alejandro Mayorkas has refused to enforce federal immigration law, risking our national security. The American people are feeling pain of his failures every day, and he has lost their trust and the trust of the Members of the House of Representatives,” Fischbach said in a statement Tuesday night. “House Republicans are following through on their commitment to hold the government accountable with our vote to impeach, and we will continue working to secure our borders and protect our national security.”

Phillips criticized House Republicans for impeaching Mayorkas while not supporting a bipartisan Senate border security bill.

DWI: Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman has chosen not to discipline DFL state Reps. Dan Wolgamott and Brion Curran for their recent DWIs, her spokesman told me.

That seems to follow precedent of how DWIs are handled in the House and Senate. Republican Sen. John Jasinski of Faribault wasn’t punished by the Senate for a 2020 drunken driving incident, either.

“I’ve been here for 10 years. I can’t remember anyone getting [reprimanded] for a DUI,” Senate GOP spokeswoman Rachel Aplikowski told me, adding the public shame and political blowback are often seen as sufficient punishment.

GOP state Rep. Matt Grossell was removed from legislative committees as punishment for a drunken arrest in 2019. But Grossell’s situation was different: After his arrest, he walked into St. Paul Police headquarters and told an officer he was a state representative and that there would be “hell to pay” for his arrest.

“Grossell threatened retribution using his status as a lawmaker,” said Ted Modrich, the speaker’s spokesman. He added that Hortman did not punish Grossell for a separate DWI last year.

State Sen. Julia Coleman of Waconia is one of the campaign’s volunteer co-chairs. She told Josie that many Republicans like Haley more than former President Donald Trump but aren’t willing to say so publicly.

“They’re scared of what the base might say,” Coleman said.

Coleman said she expected criticism for supporting Haley but instead has received notes of encouragement.

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, is serving as Minnesota chair of Haley’s campaign.

“Do I risk an endorsement challenge? Yes,” Robbins said. Still, she said, she believes in Haley and thinks voters deserve to know where she stands.

“As you can see, wolves lost any fear of humans and are increasingly dangerous to livestock and pets and decimating our deer here,” Stauber wrote on social media recently in response to a video where a lone gray wolf bolted by a logger recently.

But the wolf population hasn’t significantly increased here in more than 25 years, nor have wolf attacks on livestock and pets.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed that wolves killed 77 animals — cattle, sheep and dogs — in 2022. That was below the 10-year average of 82 confirmed losses.

SPECIAL ELECTION: Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday issued a writ of special election to fill the vacant seat of GOP state Rep. Kurt Daudt, who resigned. House District 27B encompasses Anoka, Isanti, Mille Lacs, and Sherburne Counties. A special election for the seat will be held March 19. Candidates must file by 5 p.m. on Thursday.

CD3: Republican Jamie Page, a “tech entrepreneur who values family, faith, community, and country,” announced his campaign for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District seat on Tuesday.

WHERE’S WALZ: Walz will attend the inaugural African American Heritage Forum on Wednesday where he’ll meet with community members.

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