Two members of the Minnesota House have lost their committee assignments and will face ethics charges for skipping their work in St. Paul to go drinking.
It was last month that Representative Elliot Engen was arrested for drunk driving in White Bear Lake.
In the car with him was fellow Republican house member Walter Hudson.
What has angered lawmakers even more is that the day of that arrest, the two were seen drinking at a bar while their committee was in session, and then they showed up for a floor session intoxicated.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R) says there are legal aspects to accusations, however, speaking to the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar. She also said past issues have been ignored.
"Although it is unacceptable behavior, the Democrats have also faced similar things in years past, and there were zero legislative repercussions from their leadership at the time," Demuth said. "My main concern though is that we get the work done for the people of Minnesota."
Demuth and House leaders will now decide whether or not to file ethics complaints against Engen and Hudson.
"I was disappointed with the behavior," she said. "Obviously there are legal aspects to that. I have taken action as a speaker as far as their committee assignments."
Both have been removed from their committee assignments at a critical time of the legislative session; committees are close to wrapping up their work a little more than a month before adjournment.
Engen has apologized for the arrest. Engen also is a candidate for Minnesota State Auditor heading into the 2026 Elections
In a social media post, Hudson called it a "dumb" move to remove the two lawmakers from their committee assignments. He also warned that House leaders should "never give him a platform."
"Well, he was removed by a member of his own party," notes WCCO political analyst Blois Olson. "This could cause some innerparty squabbles and ultimately doesn't mean that I'm high on productivity and a lot of stuff getting done. So we'll see if the ethics complaints go through or if they just kind of threaten them."
Republicans accused of being intoxicated during floor debate
