Keith Ellison takes credit for doing nothing

The headline from a Keith Ellison press release sent out back on Friday,

Attorney General Ellison secures agreement with Trump Administration to protect $530 million in Minnesota education funding.

To be clear, Ellison himself didn’t “secure” anything. And it’s not clear that anyone involved secured anything of real value.

Ellison’s claim involves a federal lawsuit captioned State of New York, et al., v. U.S. Dept. of Education. The case was filed in the district of Massachusetts. So, New York sued the feds in Massachusetts, “settled” the case, and Keith Ellison back in Minnesota takes credit for a victory over “Trump.”

Minnesota was one of a bunch of blue states that joined New York’s lawsuit and is listed a distant fifth on the roster of co-plaintiffs. The three-page settlement provides that the feds will abide by the result of a different lawsuit filed by a national teachers union. By itself, the states’ lawsuit accomplished nothing. Ellison stands at least two degrees separated from any actual courtroom victory, to the extent there was one at all.

But, for Ellison’s purposes, it was a huge win, because his press release gained him a favorable headline in today’s Star Tribune,

Ellison, Trump administration settle DEI education lawsuit

I cannot guarantee many things in life, but I can guarantee you this: Trump and Ellison had no direct interaction in the matter.

Ellison brags,

The money will be allocated to support low-income students, provide special education services and programming for English language learners and support students in foster care or who are experiencing homelessness. Some funds will also go to training educators.

I’m not sure of what any of that has to do with DEI, or if any of that funding was ever in any real danger of being withheld.

What I do know is that Ellison is running for re-election as attorney general this year and he believes his best shot lies in running against Pres. Trump, rather than his nominal opponent.

Expect to see many more self-congratulatory press releases in the coming months.