ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republicans in the Minnesota Senate refused to confirm Peggy Lippink as commissioner of labor and industry in a slap at Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat. The vote was 34-32. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, denied partisanship. The issue, he said, was job performance. Gazelka called Lippink hostile to businesses. “Businesses across the state need a responsive and supportive commissioner as we recover from COVID,” Gazelka said. “Leppink has instead increased regulations on business.” Lippink was a Walz appointee. After the vote, Walz accused Senate Republicans of “a petty political move.” Democratic agreed. Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, D-Woodbury, accused Gazelka of an ambush, giving no advance warning that had organized an anti-Lippick vote.
