Jan/Feb 2025 Newsletter
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are destroying the United States government. Will they destroy the U.S. in the process?
It’s been five weeks since Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term and he and Elon Musk, who appears to be more in charge than Trump, have been doing their best to destroy the U.S. government. Trump won a narrow victory last year, but has been acting like a king or an emperor. He started out by pardoning or commuting the sentences of everyone involved in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, even the most violent bad actors. He then went on a spree with Musk of firing Federal employees, often in agencies that had offended one of them. Many of these firings are illegal, as courts are now determining, and some have needed to be rescinded when it was found the fired employees were performing critical functions. Meanwhile, Musk and his minions are roaming through agencies tapping into computers for government data they shouldn’t have access to (and maybe rewriting the software the government runs on?).
Trump has nominated egregiously unqualified people to lead Federal departments and agencies. The spineless Senate has confirmed every one who has come up for a vote. Trump has threatened to take over Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal while repudiating our support for Ukraine and cozying up to Putin. The disastrous meeting with Zelensky today was a national embarrassment, and has further isolated us from our allies. He has put in tariffs for no good reason and is threatening many new tariffs. He is doing his best to drive people of color out of leaderships in the administration and is demonizing LGBTQ+ people. It’s been a blitz of evil.
The firings and tariffs, among other bad actions, have the potential to destroy the strong economy President Biden left Trump and throw us into recession. It’s time to start resisting. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell Trump’s people what you find most offensive about what’s happened so far or what’s planned.
Will Brad Finstad vote to slash Medicaid, medical research, and food stamp funding? Spoiler alert - Probably
Brad Finstad joined the DOGE Caucus in the U.S. House as soon as it was formed, which says a lot about him. As he has before, he has toed the Republican line faithfully, including being one of the votes who passed the House’s budget resolution, a resolution no Democrat supported, this week. Finstad voted to cut trillions in Federal spending and raise the debt ceiling for $4 trillion to continue the at least $4.5 trillion in tax cuts originally passed in Trump’s first term. The resolution tells House committees how much they need to cut if the resolution becomes law and doesn’t directly cut any programs, but it’s not hard to figure out what would be cut in a Republican House. The biggest target is Medicaid, which is how we pay for care to lower-income people, the disabled, and many of the elderly. Other big targets include food stamps, student loans, and subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans.
Later this year, bills will come to the House floor with these cuts. Finstad will almost certainly support these, even though they will hurt the 1st Congressional District badly, unless we can convince him otherwise. You can call his Washington office and tell his staff why he shouldn’t support these cuts. The number there is (202) 225-2472. Even better, visit his office in Rochester at 2746 Superior Drive NW. Suite 100 and tell the staff there what you want him to do or call there - (507) 577-6140.
We’ve heard a candidate to oppose Finstad in 2026 may be announcing a run soon. Watch for that.
Minnesota House of Representatives is working after power-sharing agreement reached
In November Minnesotans elected 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans to seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives (only the second time that’s happened). Many of these races were close. One DFLer won by only 14 votes and that election was complicated by the loss of 20 absentee ballots before they could be counted. Republican and DFL House Caucus leaders negotiated a power-sharing agreement to deal with this unusual situation with co-speakers, co-chairs of and equal representation on each committee, and a requirement to bill needs votes from both parties to pass out of committees or off the House floor
In December a judge ruled in favor of a Republican challenge that Curtis Johnson, one of the elected DFL candidates, hadn’t lived in his district long enough and so shouldn’t be eligible to serve in the House. Johnson decided not to appeal the decision and Governor Walz called a special election for January 28 to replace him. Republicans promptly reneged on their agreement and said they planned to control the House for two years, even if the DFL had equal representation again after the special election. They also threatened to kick the DFLer with the 14 vote margin out of the House, even after his opponent challenged his election in court and lost.
The session officially began on January 14. Leading up to that, Secretary of State Steve Simon, who presides over the House until a speaker is elected, said the quorum needed to begin business was 68 members while Republicans said it was only 67. DFLers decided that they wouldn’t let Republicans convert a one-vote advantage for a few weeks into two years on control and so decided to boycott on the 14th so a quorum would not be present. They arranged to be sworn in separately on January 12.
On January 14, Secretary Simon and 67 Republicans showed up. When it came time to determine if a quorum was present, Secretary Simon found that there was not and adjourned for the day. He wasn’t even out the door when Republicans climbed on the dais, announced a quorum was present, and pretended to organize the house, including a new speaker. Secretary Simon and others filed lawsuits to clarify what a quorum was. Republicans filed a suit claiming Governor Walz had called a special election to fill the seat that Curtis Johnson wasn’t going to take prematurely. House Republicans then spent two weeks pretending to play at being real legislators.
Later in January, both Secretary Simon and the Republicans challenging the special election date won their suits. House Republicans stopped pretending they could run the House with 67 people and Governor Walz called the special election for March 11. Negotiations between House DFLers and Republicans started up again. By February 5, a new power-sharing agreement was announced. Lisa Demuth, the House Republican leader, would be speaker through 2026, but her powers would be limited if the House again became tied. House Republicans would have a one-vote majority on committees originally. Also, a committee on investigating fraud would be created with a 2 vote Republican majority. However, if a DFLer won the special election, as expected, the rest of the previous power-sharing agreement would take effect.
With this agreement, DFL House members, who had been working in their districts agreed to return to St. Paul. The session effectively began February 6. Unfortunately, the Republicans are using the five weeks in which they are expected to have a one-vote advantage in the House to hear and pass bills through committees that have no chance of getting DFL votes and so will not pass the House. Two such bills have failed already. More will be coming.
Senator Tina Smith is retiring. Who might take her place?
Tina Smith, Minnesota’s junior Senator since 2018, recently announced she is not running for reelection next year. This is the first time there will be an open Senate seat since Mark Dayton retired in 2006. Peggy Flanagan, our Lieutenant Governor, promptly announced she was running for the seat. Two Republicans, one of whom lost to Senator Klobuchar in 2024, said they were running. Some DFLers said they weren’t running and some are thinking about the race.
IN : Peggy Flanagan
OUT: Tim Walz, Al Franken, Dean Phillips, Melvin Carter
MAYBE: Angie Craig, Ilhan Omar, Steve Simon, Keith Ellison, Melisa Lopez-Franzen
On the Republican side, Tim Pawlenty, the last Republican elected statewide in Minnesota, is not running. Congressmen Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber are also out. Several state legislators are considering a run and the other two Republican members of Congress, including Finstad, haven’t said anything.
Early ratings of the race have it leaning Democratic, but Smith’s retirement is likely to mean a tougher race for the DFLer trying to replace her, and it’s expected more money will need to be spent on the race.
Ken Martin is now chair of the Democratic National Committee. Who will be the next DFL chair?
Ken Martin, who has been the chair of the Minnesota DFL since early 2011, was elected the chair of the Democratic National Committee earlier this month. His term in Minnesota expires on March 29. Delegates to the DFL State Central Committee will elect his successor and all other state-wide DFL officers during an in-person meeting in Edina on the 29th.
The early favorite for chair is Richard Carlbom, who has worked as a DFL organizer, as a fund-raiser and campaign manager for Tim Walz’s congressional campaigns, and, most famously, as the lead organizer for the Vote No campaign that beat the proposed anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment proposal in 2012. He has at least one opponent. The first and second vice-chairs are running for election, apparently without opposition. The treasurer is retiring and while there were two candidates running, one had to drop out for health reasons. The secretary is running for re-election and has an opponent. The Outreach and Inclusion Officer is also retiring. There are two candidates for that position.
If you’re interested in hearing from many of these candidates, come to the Candidate Forum sponsored by Olmsted 20/24 and Senate District 25 DFLs from 2-4 PM on Saturday, March 22 at the IBEW Hall (9 80th St, SE, Rochester). Admission is free.
Olmsted 20/24 DFL has five voting members on the State Central Committee and someone else who lives in the unit is a member because of a different party role.
Help the Holmes campaign organize in House District 24A
Heather Holmes was the DFL candidate for House District 24A in 2024 and is running again for 2026. Based on problems she and her husband, Amos Holmes, identified in her campaign, they are launching an organizing effort in District 24A to identify and reach out to DFLers in the area.
Their initial main goals are:
Build the infrastructure needed to help win elections and advocate for issues locally
Connect progressive people all across our district and build community with each other
Start to have conversations in our communities to connect with people who may not consider themselves Democrats. There’s a lot to unite people right now, and it’s important to help folks understand we don’t have to agree on everything to work together.
A lot of people have volunteered already but they can use more. If you’re looking for something to do locally to strengthen progressive forces in the area, contact Heather at heatherholmes4mnhouse@gmail.com
Action Items – Take the Next Step in 30 Days
Upcoming Activism & Protests
Feb. 28 – "Hit Them in Their Profits" Economic Blackout (No spending for 14 hours)
March 7 - Stand Up For Science (https://standupforscience2025.org/)
March 7-14 – US & World Oligarch Protest #1: No Amazon purchases for 1 week
March 14 – National Strike: No work for 24 hours
Volunteer to Phone Bank for Special Elections
Help elect pro-democracy candidates:
Susan Crawford (Wisconsin Supreme Court) – crawfordforwi.com (April 1st)
Gay Valimont (FL-1) – gayforcongress.com (April 1st)
Joshua Weil (FL-6) – joshweil.us (April 1st)
Blake Gendebien (NY-21) – blakegendebienforcongress.com (Date TBD)
Help Justice Allison Riggs secure her rightfully won NC Supreme Court seat. More here:
https://www.riggsforourcourts.com/. (Can donate here)
Sign Up for the DFL Rural Caucus Communications Workshop
4-part workshop on Rural Communication and Organizing – Register Here
Donate to Support Legal Assistance for our Immigrant Neighbors
Want to have a voice in the future of our party? Join this Candidate Forum to ask questions of the people running for the DFL State Party Chair, Vice-Chairs, Secretary, Treasurer and Outreach and Inclusion Officer. Talk to your representatives on the State Central Committee and voice your opinions on the candidates.
Location: IBEW Local 343, 9 80th St SE, Rochester, MN 55904
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
Candidate Forum (FREE to Attend)
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Check-in & informal networking
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Candidate Forum
Opening remarks (2-minute intros per candidate)
Prearranged questions (sent to candidates in advance)
Audience Q&A – Come prepared with your questions!
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: One-on-one discussions with SCC Members & Alternates
Registration: Let us know if you're attending here → RSVP Form
Chili Cook-Off & Silent Auction
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM – Stick around for a fun evening of chili tasting, community building, and friendly competition!
Entry Fee:
$10 per person | $20 per family
FREE with a chili entry! (Fee collected on-site)
Want to enter a chili? Sign up here → Chili Sign-Up
Accessibility Information: The venue meets ADA standards with accessible restrooms, flat ground, wide doorways, and dedicated seating & parking.
Spread the word! This event is open to delegates, alternates, party leaders, and all members of the public.
We Need You—Get Involved!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are actively working to dismantle our democracy. Many in our community are struggling under policies that do not serve working people. The need for strong, local DFL leadership has never been greater.
We are all volunteers, and we need more people who can organize demonstrations, voter outreach, programs, and campaigns. If you can help, now is the time to step up.
If you're ready to get involved, reply to this email or join us at one of our meetings.
