A brazen attempt by Minnesota Republicans to hijack the state House of Representatives collapsed earlier this month under the weight of its own illegality. The GOP sought to exploit a vacancy in the legislature to bypass quorum rules and seize power, but the Minnesota Supreme Court swiftly struck down the unconstitutional power grab, reaffirming that a quorum requires 68 members, not a MAGA math trick.
The State Supreme Court deemed the sessions the Republicans carried out as unconstitutional, thwarting their shocking and unlawful grasping for power. Justices found no historical precedent for a quorum being present with less than 68 members of the House in a session.
Though it was ultimately blocked, the attempted legislative coup provides a chilling reminder of how far Republicans will go and have gone to try to get a lock on power and trample opposing voices.
Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) State Rep. Samakab Hussein disparaged the Republicans and praised the State Supreme Court for blocking the unlawful actions of the GOP. “The reason they want to do this is simple: to empower themselves to advance their extreme agenda, including taking away reproductive freedoms.”
Hussein drew parallels to the overarching Project 2025 plan in his explanation of the logic for the Republicans’ actions: “eliminating paid family leave, rolling back progress to address climate change, and ending free school meals for kids.”
The Minnesota MAGA plan for chaos
On Jan. 14, 2025, the first House legislative session commenced. The House consists of 134 representatives and was equally tied 67-67 between Republicans and Democrats. However, the Republicans refused to seat a DFL representative, Brad Tabke, for not living in his representative district.
The House DFL decided to boycott the beginning legislative sessions to prevent the Republicans from exploiting their temporary majority. The Secretary of State, Steve Simon, declared the House had failed to reach a quorum and adjourned the session. Republicans defied his ruling, however, twisted the numbers, and deemed that a quorum was present. They staged a sham vote on a new Speaker of the House in a blatantly unconstitutional power grab.
The DFL, on the morning of Jan. 15, filed a lawsuit requesting that the Supreme Court deem the Republican actions unconstitutional. DFL Speaker Melissa Hortman stated: “The Republicans’ sham session had no legal authority, and the actions they took on Jan. 14 have no legal effect. A 68-member quorum is required to conduct House business, and only 67 members were present.”
The DFL was quick to address this attempted coup and petition the court to void the decisions made. “Republicans are going to extreme and unprecedented lengths to seize power that the voters did not give them, and Democrats will fight their unlawful, unconstitutional actions every step of the way,” the party said in a statement.
Democratic institutions can block authoritarian power grabs
This attempted coup resembles Donald Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol but with a “Minnesota nice” twist. The state’s House Republicans took a page directly from Trump’s playbook, showing complete disregard for following democratic processes.
In this instance of the MAGA cult’s grasp for power, Minnesota responded clearly disallowing the abuse of power. The court victory offers hope that the Trump administration’s executive orders attacks on constitutional rights may also meet judicial resistance.
This grasp for power is an opening salvo in the Republicans’ effort to consolidate their political control nationally following their win in the 2024 elections. As soon as the 67-67 balance is restored, the DFL plans to return to legislative sessions. The party says it will uphold the law through the use of the judicial system as necessary.
So far, the DFL’s response to MAGA’s effort to seize the initiative via chaos has exemplified the vitality of the left-center unity necessary to prevent the rise of fascism. Minnesota’s response sets a model for other states to defeat anti-democratic forces.
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