On Thursday while Governor Tim Walz talked to the media on his daily 2:00pm call, the Senate Majority Leader took to Twitter to criticize the decision Walz made to extend the stay at home order until May 4th.
“I am somewhat encouraged that it appears like folks who have dismissed numbers around climate change and things like that are now deeply concerned about how we do science,” he said. “I will be glad to give them whatever they need, but I would say, and this is just for me, I don’t think deliberating in a crisis by tweet is the way to go.”
Walz said he’s basing decisions on data from numerous models, guidance from health experts and the lead of other states.
“I’m tired of this. I’m frustrated by this,” he said. “My heart breaks for the people worried about their economic well-being. But you can’t get frustrated, go on a hunch, and throw caution to the wind and pretend like our neighbors’ lives are somehow disposable, because the health experts are telling me (information).”
Walz also said he was disappointed by “disinformation” about death recording. Republican Sens. Scott Jensen and Jim Abeler asserted that CDC guidance is leading to an inflated number of deaths.
Friday morning with Dave Lee, Gazelka responded by saying even though he disagrees with the Governor, they are still cooperating.
"We're all battling to make sure our lives stay intact," Gazelka said on the WCCO Morning News. "If I believe he is on the wrong path I have to point that out. We've already passed four bills with 100% senate support Republicans and Democrats to give the governor the resources he needs. And so when I put out the tweet, it was frustration that he is doing some things unilaterally that you know, we don't necessarily agree with and therefore we need to point them out."
Gazelka also said he regrets his timing, posting his tweets just before Walz addressed his orders to the media and public on the daily briefing he holds with his commissioners. Those tweets lead to Walz having to address the political differences during his briefing.
"I know that he did not like that I put out the public comment," said Gazelka. "I did tell him that privately, as he announced to us what he was gonna do and the timing. I wish I would have done better. You know, I'm sheltering at home. I'm working from home and I put it out just before his press conference. I wish I had not done that. I'm doing calls all day long, and I'm not really keeping track of every one of his press conferences. So in that regard, I can see where he might have been miffed, but I think he needs people like me to to push him to make the best decisions he can. He had emergency powers now for almost 30 days. That's longer than any time in my lifetime. So that's where you know that it's that balance of powers as well that I'm trying to highlight. But the governor has to be successful. Trump has to be successful. I still am committed to working together with them. We're gonna pass another bill. I hope we have 100% support again on April 14th. So, you know, these are tough times. And, it's not always easy."