ST. PAUL, Minn. – When Republicans showed up for the opening session the 2025 House, they were alone. Not a single Democrat was in the House chamber for the swearing-in ceremony. The Democrats had arranged their own ceremony secretly the night before. Thus began a Democratic boycott designed to preclude any proceedings for lack of a quorum. It was the latest and most dramatic power play since the November election. The election had ended with a 67-67 House split. Who would be House speaker? Who would control House committees? Who would control the House agenda? The two parties squabbled, then came up with a power-sharing arrangement. Meanwhile, the Republicans were organizing a lawsuit to disqualify a newly elected Democrat for not living in his distrct. They won the suit, giving themselves a one-vote House majority. They cancelled the power-sharing agreement. A special election is pending to choose a legislator from the disputed district,but the election is a couple weeks away. If a Democrat wins the special election, the House already would have been locked into a governing Republican majority. Meanwhile, to address the GOP switcher-roo on power-sharing, Democrats, furious at what they saw as a double-cross, arranged for a friendly retired Hennepin County judge, Kevin Burke, to conduct a swearing-in ceremony for hem at an undisclosed location outside the Capitol.
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What’s a quorum?
Usually a quorum is a majority. In the 134-member Minnesota House that would be 68. Because Republicans hold only a 67-66 majority, they’re one member short. In his role as convener of the House, Secretary of State Scott opened the session at the mandated 12 noon, which normally would be followed by Simon excusing himself from the chamber and allowing legislators to proceed with their business. It didn’t happen. Simon a Democrat, ruled that a quorum wasn’t present and brought everything to a halt. For how long? A day? A week? Longer? Who knows.