If you want to know what Democrats and Republicans believe will be their best issues for the November election, look no further than the beginning of the 2026 legislative session. Democrats want the 2026 election to be a referendum on President Donald Trump. Republicans want the 2026 election to be about state government fraud. The session began with a flurry of activity in committee as both sides came out swinging.
Telling ICE how to act in Minnesota
Democrats in the Senate and House each introduced bills to regulate federal law enforcement activities in Minnesota. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that none of their ideas are constitutional. This is all about messaging for the 2026 election. Their list includes bills to:
- Require agents to exhibit visible identification and not wear masks
- Require vehicles used to transport detainees be marked as law enforcement
- Require ICE agents to keep away from school grounds, childcare centers, hospitals and college campuses
- Compel the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s participation in investigations of all Minnesota shootings involving law enforcement or federal agents
- Restrict the use of tear gas and flash bang grenades by federal agents
States can’t micro-manage how a federal law enforcement agency carries out their duties under federal law, but that won’t stop Minnesota Democrats from grandstanding on the issue for political points.
Meanwhile Senate Democrats moved a bill to provide $75 million in emergency rental assistance to counties and tribal nations in Minnesota. This is COVID all over again. Democrats create a crisis by scaring people into “sheltering in place,” and then propose massive government spending to help people pay rent because they didn’t go to work. To qualify for the money, you must be “homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness and in need of financial assistance due to a housing crisis.” This is classic Minnesota progressivism: Create a crisis through fear, redistribute money to those affected and hope there is no fraud when they hand out the money.
Senate Democrats also held a hearing of their Subcommittee on the Federal Impact on Minnesotans and Economic Stability. They should just name it the “Orange Man Bad” committee. The One Big Beautiful Bill requires all states to cut payments to able-bodied Medicaid recipients that were added during COVID, tighten up eligibility for Medicaid programs, and add work requirements for recipients. These are commonsense reforms supported by Minnesotans. But Senate Democrats used their committee time to complain about the Trump administration. Sen. Alice Mann (DFL-Edina) delivered a rant accusing Donald Trump of purposefully ruining all the good work state government is doing for the people of Minnesota:
“We have seen this in many other countries where in order to stay in power, the federal government destroys the infrastructure of society. They increase poverty, increase crime, increase unemployment, decrease literacy, increase the death rate, and they throw peanuts back at the people. Stop clapping for the peanuts!”
Look for this rant in an episode of Stop the Tape this week on the American Experiment Podcast.
Learn more:
Minnesota faces loss of $2 billion in federal Medicaid funding if legislature fails to act on fraud
The Big Beautiful Bill is both a wake-up call and a second chance for Minnesota’s budget reform
Inspector General bill
Republicans in the House got to work right away on the bill to create an independent office of inspector general to investigate fraud in state government. The inspector general bill passed the Senate last year 60-7 and is very popular (72% support in our Thinking Minnesota Poll). Every House Democrat voted against the bill on the last day of the 2025 session. Fixing this vote before it ends up in campaign mailers is one of the DFL’s top political goals. Instead of simply moving it to the floor, House author Rep. Matt Norris (DFL-Blaine) amended the bill in committee, adding a layer of oversight from the Walz administration.
After a parliamentary fight in committee stalled the bill, House Republicans tried to suspend the rules and bring it to the floor for another vote. Democrats voted “no” again, their second recorded vote against this very popular bill. Since the bill will eventually pass this session, it’s unclear why Democrats are taking such a stubborn approach.
Meanwhile, no one’s talking about the state budget
The December budget forecast released by Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) showed a $2.4 billion surplus in the current biennium (2026-27) but a $2.9 billion deficit in the next biennium (2028-29).
Even though there is enough cash in the bank to support a temporary surplus, the structural deficit between spending and revenues persists. When the dust settles, Minnesota is projected to take in $66.262 billion and spend $68.440, a difference of $2.178 billion. The structural deficit will grow to $4.490 in the next biennium if nothing is done to align spending with projected revenue. Instead of wasting their time on federal issues, legislators should be working on the state budget. The February forecast is scheduled for this Friday. Will the outlook improve, or get worse?
Check back to Capitol Watch next Sunday for complete analysis.
