Minnesota House power-sharing agreement kicks in next week

The Minnesota House of Representatives is about to change from a 67-66 Republican advantage to a 67-67 tie, which means a previously negotiated power-sharing agreement will be in effect for the remainder of the 2025-2026 term.

Beginning next week, all House committees will be co-chaired by Democrats and Republicans, with equal numbers of members from both parties—the one exception being the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, which will continue to have a Republican chair and a 5-3 Republican advantage. House DFL leadership says their committee co-chairs will use their new power to shine a bright light on the harm the Trump administration’s policies are having on the economy, state budget, and the people of Minnesota, while also putting forward solutions that focus on the economic issues Minnesotans care about.

“While Republicans spent the last month focusing on divisive political stunts instead of solutions to real problems people are facing, starting next week our committee co-chairs will hold hearings on things people actually care about, like making life more affordable and protecting people from the Trump administration’s chaos, cruelty, and incompetence,” said Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. “Minnesotans want us to fix our broken economic system where corporations and billionaires do better than ever while hardworking Minnesotans live paycheck to paycheck. We hope our Republican colleagues will work with us to build a future where everyone can get ahead, not just the wealthy and a powerful few.”

House committees are expected to rotate gavels, with DFL and Republican co-chairs setting their respective agendas and deciding which bills to hear. More information about committee membership and schedules can be found at www.house.mn.gov/committees.

“At a time when the cost of eggs and other necessities are soaring, Minnesotans should be outraged that our Republican colleagues did not bring a single bill to the House floor that would make life easier or more affordable for hardworking people while they had a temporary advantage over the past month,” said House DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long. “Republicans have completely abandoned the concerns of the working class and middle class voters they pretended to care about on the campaign trail, and have chosen to sow division, fear, and hatred in our state. Thankfully, our DFL co-chairs and committee members will put the focus back on bread and butter economic issues that people actually care about beginning next week.”