The House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee voted Jan. 15, 2025, to adopt Resolution 2025 R11, authorizing the retention of outside counsel and inserting the names Nicholas Nelson, Samuel Diehl and Ryan Wilson into the resolution.

The resolution, moved by the committee chair and approved by voice vote, was presented by the chair as a measure to allow the House to secure outside legal representation to defend against “two separate lawsuits” that the chair said could hinder the legislature from conducting its business.

Committee discussion focused on the identities of the attorneys named in the resolution and conflicts of interest. Majority Leader Niska said the three lawyers under consideration are “colleagues of mine in my law practice outside of the legislature” and added, “Im not participating in this resolution today.” Representative Nash asked whether the lawyers had been involved in past litigation concerning a presidential ballot question; the chair responded that the lawyers named had been involved in litigation relating to Representative Long, Hortman and Hollins and President-elect Donald Trump, as described on the record.

The motion to adopt Resolution 2025 R11, with the three names inserted on line 2 of the draft resolution, passed on a voice vote with the chair calling for ayes and the committee answering “Aye.” No roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The committee also approved the minutes of its Jan. 14, 2025, meeting before taking up the resolution. With the passage of Resolution 2025 R11, the committee adjourned.

The record does not specify the text of the retained counsel agreement, the contract value, or any departmental or fiscal office assigned to oversee the work; those details were not stated on the record and are not specified in the transcript.