Friends and neighbors,
This week, Senate Republicans rolled out our “Minnesotans First” agenda for the 2025 session. Our agenda is focused on helping Minnesotans with inflationary costs and reining in spending, holding government accountable to fraud, keeping Minnesotans safe, and strengthening our families and protecting children.
Each of these issues is addressed in the five planks of Minnesotans First, with the first plank focusing on helping Minnesotans with the high cost of living. Minnesotans continue to face high costs of energy, health care and housing. It is also extremely expensive to start a family or business in our state. That is why Senate Republicans will work this year on reducing the impacts of inflation and letting Minnesotans keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. We will also advocate for policies that grow the economy with solutions to help Main Street businesses.
We need to make life more affordable for Minnesotans.
The second plank is dedicated to reining in runaway Democrat spending and stopping tax increases. Under Democratic leadership, the state has been pushed into a $5.1 billion deficit. Governor Tim Walz proposed a puny sales tax cut and cutting spending on human and special education services to address the deficit. However, recent committee hearings on his proposal exposed that this will simply shift costs onto counties, which have no option but to increase property taxes. It is extremely concerning that Walz’s proposal will ultimately raise more revenue than it cuts, as Minnesotans’ budgets are already stretched thin.
Rest assured, my colleagues and I will NOT vote for a budget that increases taxes on Minnesotans. Democrats already raised taxes and fees by $10 billion in 2023, putting even more strain on families’ budgets. Therefore, Senate Republicans aim to reduce the tax burden on working Minnesotans.
We need to rein in bloated government spending.
Next, our plan focuses on holding government accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse. Our proposals include a statewide Office of Inspector General, which would focus on preventing and detecting waste, fraud, and abuse in state programs and operations. We are also looking to increase oversight authority given to every state employee to look for and immediately report suspected fraud, along with increasing penalties on fraudsters.
We need to restore Minnesotans’ trust in how their tax dollars are being spent.
Our Minnesotans First agenda also centers on tackling public safety and crime. My Senate Republican colleagues and I will promote policies that support law enforcement recruitment and retention, propose tougher penalties on violent and repeat offenders, and invest in proven crime prevention strategies.
We need to ensure that Minnesotans feel safe in their communities.
Finally, the Minnesotans First agenda is dedicated to putting students first, strengthening families, and protecting children. Republican Education Committee co-chairs started the session by inviting school officials to share how a bevy of mandates and increased spending has challenged their budgets and made it harder to meet academic achievement goals. Despite the historic funding increases, schools across the state are struggling to make ends meet due to the strings and regulations Democrats put on the funding.
We need to put students first and support Minnesota families.
These topics will be a priority for my Republican colleagues and me as session progresses. It is time for government to put Minnesotans first!
Senate Republicans move to expel Senator Mitchell, all Democrats vote to protect her
In sharp contrast, we recently saw Senate Democrats refuse to put Minnesotans first.
On Monday, January 27, Senate Republicans introduced a motion to expel Senator Nicole Mitchell (DFL-Woodbury) from the legislative body. This motion failed in a procedural vote, as every Democrat voted to protect her from any Senate discipline and used a parliamentary maneuver to rule it out of order.
As you will recall, Mitchell was arrested at 4 a.m. after breaking into her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes last spring and subsequently charged with first-degree felony burglary. Her trial was set to begin on January 27, but using her Senate position, she waited until the last minute and requested a delay until the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session, allowing her to continue serving as a senator while her legal case is looming.
This is an issue that there is bipartisan concern on. After the 2024 session was concluded, Governor Tim Walz, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, and four Senate Democrats publicly said that Mitchell should resign.
Additionally, with the Senate currently tied with 33 Republicans and 33 Democrats, we are operating under a bipartisan power-sharing agreement. This would remain in effect even if either side were to drop to 32 members.
Democrats had the opportunity this week to do what is right. Instead, they chose to shield Mitchell from legal consequences. I believe that there is no question that we must discipline Sen. Mitchell and let the courts take over the matter as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Senator Torrey Westrom