Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who ran his vice presidential campaign on defending democracy during the 2024 election, has notably remained silent as Democratic lawmakers in his state are threatening a legislative session boycott to deny GOP lawmakers a quorum to elect a speaker and conduct legislative business.

Minnesota Legislature got a dose of normalcy when Gov. Tim Walz unveiled his blueprint for the next two-year budget. The governor also weighed in for the first time publicly on some of the chaos in the Minnesota House.

House Republicans have elected a speaker but the DFL is asking the state Supreme Court to intervene. At issue is whether 67 seats are a majority or whether 68 are needed.

Gov. Tim Walz is urging lawmakers to end a power struggle that has disrupted the first week of Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session

Walz wants to shift the tax burden to wealthier Minnesotans, but Republican House leaders say any increases are off the table.

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday pitched a tighter two-year budget, complete with spending pullbacks and other measures to keep a potential deficit at bay. He also proposed a lower state sales tax rate but called for extending the tax’s reach to financial services.

Gov. Tim Walz is pitching his first budget under the new Trump era as a counterweight to the incoming president’s threats to impose tariffs, which he says will raise costs on everyday Minnesotans. His plan would lower Minnesota’s sales tax rate for the first time in state history by .

Walz focused on tackling fraud, cutting state spending and long-term fiscal stability in Minnesota’s 2026-27 budget.

The state of Minnesota is spending more money than it’s bringing in, and if current trends continue, the state will spend down the current balance as soon as 2027. DFL Gov. Tim Walz wants to address the issue mostly by slowing state spending on disability services,

Gov. Tim Walz's budget proposal would make changes to sales tax collections and trim state spending in an effort to stave off a steep shortfall in future years.

Also included in the proposal would be an increase to the surcharge for health maintenance organizations, cuts of state funding to private schools, and reduce Special Education transportation reimbursement costs.