Good morning. Another midweek warm spell will tempt those prone to playing hooky.
DFLer Erin Murphy will carry the title of majority leader again, this time in the Minnesota Senate. MPR’s Dana Ferguson writes that the 34-member DFL caucus group selected Murphy, of St. Paul, as its new majority leader as the 2024 legislative session is about to begin. It comes days after Majority Leader Kari Dzidzic announced she would step down to battle a recurrence of cancer. Murphy previously served as House majority leader in 2013 and 2014. She also held the DFL endorsement for governor in 2018 but lost to now-Gov. Tim Walz in a primary. Murphy won a Senate seat in 2020, but served six terms in the House before that. DFLers made the selection in a closed-door caucus Tuesday afternoon. Murphy didn’t stand for questions from reporters afterward.
Nevada’s primary came with a twist. President Joe Biden romped on the Democratic side. Republicans gave most of their votes to “none of these candidates.” It was a thumb in the eye to former Ambassador Nikki Haley because former President Donald Trump’s name wasn’t on the ballot. It won’t matter for convention delegates because those will be decided at Nevada GOP caucuses set for Thursday. Trump is positioned for a victory in those because Haley isn’t competing in the caucuses. Read up on all that here.
A U.S. Appeals Court panel has ruled Donald Trump is not immune to prosecution for his involvement in his 2020 election interference case. The decision on Tuesday leaves Trump susceptible to prosecution for actions undertaken while he was in the White House and during the run-up to Jan. 6. He plans to appeal. Trump faces multiple criminal cases as he aims to reclaim the White House later this year. One trial in Washington was originally set for March, but it was postponed last week. If Trump beats President Joe Biden in November, he could use his position as head of the executive branch to seek a pardon for himself or order a new attorney general to dismiss the federal cases.
Republicans in the U.S. House failed to muster enough votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. It was a close vote but the defeat — perhaps temporary — is a setback for Republican leaders, including Minnesota’s Tom Emmer, who tried to make the case that Mayorkas was to blame for border and immigration problems. A Texas Democrat in hospital garb recovering from a recent surgery appeared unexpectedly to help sink the resolution. Minnesota’s delegation voted along party lines, with four Republicans favoring impeachment and four Democrats opposed. After that defeat, Republicans lost a vote on a standalone $17.6 billion bill for aid to Israel. Neither is settled for good because both can be revived later when all Republicans are present.
Indiana State Police and several other organizations are investigating the Dean Phillips campaign for potential voter fraud. The St. Joseph County Clerk said at a press conference that her office had found a number of fake signatures on petition forms for Phillips’ candidacy in the May primary that did not match records in the Statewide Voter Registration System. In a statement the Phillips campaign gave to ABC57 News , the Phillips team said “the campaign had hired a small business to conduct signature collection, as many campaigns do. The campaign has been made aware of evidence that this third-party business was fraudulent in its representations of signature collection to the campaign. The campaign is exploring legal action.” Indiana State Police and other organizations are looking into the incident, which could result in criminal charges.
Phillips is also leaning harder into his argument that Biden is too old and cognitively challenged to serve another term. On social media yesterday, he posted clips of Biden stumbling during recent remarks to press his case. Phillips wrote: “But shame on all of you pretending everything is ok. You are leading us - and him - into a disaster, and you damn well know it.” The replies weren’t kind.
We’ve got a postscript to yesterday’s item on the cannabis office leader’s prospective pay. Most state agency commissioners have received significant raises following legislative ratification of Compensation Council advice last year. New figures compiled by the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget show pay rose by as much as $32,000. Seven commissioners — Human Services, IT Services, MMB, Natural Resources, Public Safety, Revenue and Transportation — now have salaries that exceed $187,000. Several others top $180,000. Before the bump, the highest-paid agency commissioners made $155,000.
Minnesota’s EV rebate program opens today. MPR’s Kirsti Maron reports state lawmakers set aside $10.6 million for the rebates this fiscal year and $5.2 million next year. They’ll be available until mid 2027 or until funding runs out. But the money could be gone within weeks or even days if every Minnesotan who bought an EV since last May applied for a rebate. For new vehicles, the rebates are up to $2,500. For used vehicles, it’s up to $600. | 