Constitutional Crisis Day 15: House held hostage
The executive branch has seized control of both the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives along with control of the chamber website and media operation.
Moving far beyond any authority granted under the state constitution, state law, or state supreme court order, the executive branch is effectively preventing the operation of one half of the legislative branch.
As late as yesterday, the House website was full of useful information about the workings of the chamber. Now, every page comes with the following disclaimer:
Notice! On January 24, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that 68 members are necessary to constitute a quorum of the House. This webpage may reflect proceedings that occurred before that decision was issued and are no longer active. See Simon v. Demuth, No. A25-0066 (Minn. Jan. 24, 2025) (consolidated with Hortman et al. v. Demuth et al., No. A25-0068).
Reminiscent of the dystopian novel 1984, the entire website has been wiped clean of all activity occurring since the 2024 session began on January 14. An example of one calendar entry no longer available featured your correspondent,
That meeting was canceled on orders of the state supreme court and no record of it exists, except for the above screenshot.
The only events appearing on the House calendar are the now daily 3:30 p.m. humiliation rituals conducted by the MN Secretary of State Steve Simon.
At the appointed hour, in the now commandeered House Chamber at the Capitol, Sec. Simon gavels in a meeting, takes the roll, ignores the 67 House Republicans who dutifully turned up, declares the meeting “adjourned,” and then turns off the microphones and TV cameras before Republicans can reply. Rinse and repeat.
As an example, you can watch the seven-minute farce that took place yesterday, here. Simon turns off the microphones at the 5:50 mark of the video. The camera is disabled at the 6:05 mark.
Tuesday, it was Groundhog Day, again,
Tune in at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon to watch nothing happen, again.