An unidentified DFL official at a Minnesota House DFL press briefing on Wednesday said Republicans were conducting “sham proceedings” and that DFL members were focusing on policy work for Minnesotans while withholding attendance from the chamber.

The official, identified in the transcript only as the opening DFL speaker, said: “While Republicans continue to conduct sham proceedings on the Minnesota House of Representatives floor and in fake committees, DFLers are doing real work in their communities.” The briefing presented the party’s priorities and explained why some DFL members are not attending floor sessions.

The DFL speakers outlined a multi-issue agenda centered on affordability for workers and families: lowering costs for childcare, health care and housing; preserving paid family and medical leave; protecting reproductive rights; and curbing what they called unchecked corporate power. Representative Robert Bierman, chair of the Health Finance and Policy Committee, said, “DFLers will prioritize people's health and rein in the private profits of health care, insurance, and drug companies that are harming and exploiting Minnesotans.”

Representative Mike Howard, co-chair of the House housing committee, described a housing shortage and said DFL proposals will “jump start the creation of homes that Minnesotans want and crack down on the corporate greed in our housing market.” Representative Katiza Wettum, introduced as the incoming DFL chair of the Children and Families Committee, emphasized child-focused policies, and Representative Kalee Herr, identified as incoming DFL co-chair for Commerce, said protecting consumers and defending last session’s prescription drug price caps will be priorities.

Representative Lee Finke, identified in the briefing as the chief author on the state-level Equal Rights Amendment effort, said, “I am carrying the ERA this year as well as the house chair of the reproductive freedom caucus,” and indicated the caucus will introduce the measure when practical.

On procedure and the standoff over organization, the DFL speakers said Republicans attempted to convene and to pursue removing Representative Brad Tabke from office. The DFL statement called those efforts “illegal” and “unconstitutional,” and cited alleged violations of Minnesota statutes. The opening speaker said the Republicans’ actions involved breaches of Minnesota Statutes §§3.05, 3.06 and 5.05 and that Secretary Simon had previously adjourned the House on Jan. 14, leaving “no legal hopper” for organizing in their view.

DFL floor leader Long (named in the transcript only by surname and identified as floor leader) said the caucus denied quorum to avoid a situation in which Republicans could use a temporary organizing margin to elect leadership and control committees before any power-sharing arrangements could be enforced. Long said the caucus was protecting “the wins of 2023” and that any formal disputes about organization and member status may be resolved by the courts; the transcript referenced a recent “Curtis Johnson” decision and noted an appeal deadline mentioned by participants.

Speakers framed the caucus’ absence from the chamber as both a protest against the attempted removal of a lawfully elected member and a tactical step to preserve leverage. Long also described using the extra time outside the Capitol to meet with local officials in members’ districts. He and other speakers repeatedly said they remain open to negotiation but that Republican leaders had walked away from a previously negotiated power-sharing agreement.

The DFL presenters also discussed the budget calendar. They described the timeline that will follow the February revenue forecast, with the governor’s budget to follow about two weeks later, and they cited projection figures offered during the briefing: a reported positive balance of about $3.7 billion on June 30 and a November projection of roughly $1.5 billion for the next biennium, with participants saying roughly $900 million could be used to maintain inflationary adjustments and about $616 million described as additional surplus. Those numbers were presented as the caucus’ interpretation of recent fiscal estimates.

No formal votes, motions or committee actions were recorded during the press briefing. Speakers repeatedly distinguished their policy agenda from the procedural dispute in the House and said they will introduce legislation—when the procedural environment allows—on the topics outlined at the briefing.

Looking ahead, DFL officials said they will continue to advance the agenda in districts and on the House floor when the chamber is duly organized, pressuring for negotiations on power sharing and indicating a plan to reintroduce measures including the ERA and plans to defend last session’s consumer protections. The briefing ended without any new formal rulings or recorded votes from the House.

Questions from reporters touched on legal timelines and potential court involvement; speakers said the Minnesota Supreme Court could be asked to interpret constitutional issues around quorum and organization but that they expected legal processes and that courts would be asked to examine whether the House had been “duly organized.”