(DCNF)—Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who ran his vice presidential campaign on defending democracy during the 2024 election, has notably remained silent as Democratic lawmakers in his state are threatening a legislative session boycott to deny GOP lawmakers a quorum to elect a speaker and conduct legislative business.
The start of Minnesota’s legislative session begins Tuesday, but Democratic House lawmakers may not be in attendance after breaking precedent by holding a covert mass swearing-in ceremony Sunday in a location outside of the state capitol with no media present or accompanied press release. Members are usually sworn into office at the state capitol during the first day of the session.
“It was shocking to hear that House Democrats held an unprecedented secret swearing-in ceremony behind closed doors, with no public notice,” Republican Minnesota Rep. Lisa DeMuth, the GOP’s speaker-designate, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “If the [Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party] DFL believes what they’re doing is right, why not hold a public swearing-in? They didn’t even confirm it happened until House Republicans called out their actions after the fact.”
House Republican Leaders @LisaDemuthMN and @HarryNiska issued the following statement tonight reacting to Democrats’ unprecedented and illegitimate secret swearing-in ceremony that reportedly occurred this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/ySkJbKEnwc
— MN House Republicans (@mnhousegop) January 13, 2025
Republican lawmakers have criticized Walz, who ran for vice president on a platform to “protect democracy,” for appearing to condone House Democrats’ threats to deny their Republican colleagues a necessary quorum to conduct legislative business on behalf of their constituents that elected them in November.
“It’s outrageous that Tim Walz has given Minnesota Democrat legislators blanket approval for a secret, behind-closed-doors, swearing-in last night (no public, no media) and a green light to not show up for work on Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session,” Republican Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber wrote on his campaign account on X Monday. “Minnesotans deserve better!”
ANY state legislator who fails to show up for work has no business collecting a taxpayer-funded check. If you can’t do the job, you don't deserve the seat. https://t.co/5VHAHk7K6N
— Tom Emmer (@tomemmer) January 13, 2025
Minnesota House Republicans hold a 67-66 majority heading into the start of this year’s legislative session with one vacancy in a seat previously held by a Democratic lawmaker. The special election for the vacancy is slated to take place on Jan. 28, granting Republican lawmakers at least two weeks during which they will enjoy a majority.
Republican lawmakers argue their current 67-member majority meets a quorum due to the one vacancy in the House, which sets the total number of members to 133. State Democratic lawmakers disagree, arguing the quorum should be set at the usual 68 lawmakers despite the one vacancy, which could prevent Republican lawmakers from conducting legislative business if every Democratic lawmaker boycotts the session.
State House Democratic lawmakers, led by their speaker-designate, Democratic Minnesota Rep. Melissa Horton, are threatening to do everything in their power to deny Republican lawmakers the opportunity from having a quorum to organize a majority and elect a speaker, according to a statement Horton released Monday.
“Denial of quorum is a legitimate parliamentary tactic,” Horton said. “In the event Democrats choose to deny quorum, we wanted to be sure to have all our members properly and legally sworn in and we did that this evening.”
House Republican lawmakers are pledging to move ahead with the beginning of the statehouse’s legislative session even if House Democrats boycott Tuesday’s proceedings.
“Democrats can join us in showing up for work, or they can explain to Minnesotans why they’re getting paid to no-show,” DeMuth added.
Minnesota House Democrats’ potential boycott follows the lead of Texas state Democratic lawmakers who fled the state and boycotted 38 days of the legislative session in 2021 in order to stall the passage of a GOP-backed voting integrity bill.
Walz’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple requests for comment.
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Why One Survival Food Company Shines Above the Rest
Let’s be real. “Prepper Food” or “Survival Food” is generally awful. The vast majority of companies that push their cans, bags, or buckets desperately hope that their customers never try them and stick them in the closet or pantry instead. Why? Because if the first time they try them is after the crap hits the fan, they’ll be too shaken to call and complain about the quality.
It’s true. Most long-term storage food is made with the cheapest possible ingredients with limited taste and even less nutritional value. This is why they tout calories so much. Sure, they provide calories but does anyone really want to go into the apocalypse with food their family can’t stand?
This is what prompted the Llewellyns to launch Heaven’s Harvest. They bought survival food from multiple companies and determined they couldn’t imagine being stuck in an extended emergency with such low-quality food. They quickly discovered that freeze drying food for long-term storage doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor, consistency, or nutrition.
Their ingredients are all-American. In fact, they’re locally sourced and all-natural! This allows their products to be the highest quality on the market, so good that their customers often break open a bag in a pinch to eat because they want to, not just because they have to due to an emergency.
At Heaven’s Harvest, their only focus is amazing food. They don’t sell bugout bags, solar chargers, or multitools. They have one mission – feeding Americans in times of crisis.
What they DO offer is the ability for people to thrive in times of greatest need. On top of long-term storage food, they offer seeds to help Americans for the truly long-term. They want them to grow their own food if possible which is why they offer only Heirloom, Non-GMO, Non-Hybrid, Open-Pollinated seeds so their customers can build permanent food security on their own property.
