Embattled DFL State Senator Nicole Mitchell (Woodbury) will remain seated, after an effort to expel her on the Senate Floor Monday.
Republican State Senator Jordan Rasmussen (Fergus Falls) authored a motion to expel Mitchell, saying she is “using her privilege as a Senator to delay justice.”
DFL state Senator Nick Frentz (North Mankato) made a motion to deny the motion. Senator Rassmusen tried to state his case again before the vote was taken.
"Mr. President, if members don't think Senator Mitchell should be expelled, they can vote no on her expulsion," said Rasmussen. "They can stand up and debate that. They can say why they don't want to. But Mr. President, I'm concerned today that we perhaps have individuals who don't want to vote on that."
The vote was along party lines. Republicans would have needed a dozen Democrats to vote with them to actually remove Mitchell.
About a week ago, a Becker County judge granted a motion to delay Mitchell's trial until after the legislative session.
"We don't need the results of a criminal trial to know Senator Mitchell's conduct fails to meet the standards of ethical behavior that we expect from senators," explained Rasmussen.
"No member of the Senate has ever been expelled short of the resolution of the criminal process," Frentz responded.
Mitchell is facing burglary charges and a Becker County judge has allowed her trial to be delayed until after the session. Mitchell, a Democrat from the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury, was charged in April. She told police at the time that she broke into the home in the northwestern Minnesota town of Detroit Lakes because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony criminal complaint.
Rasmussen says the dispute isn't about a power sharing struggle, but instead about making sure the Senate can focus on its business.
"Senator Mitchell, as you've seen today, continues to distract from that important work, and I think it's also important to say that her constituents aren't being served right now by having her in the Senate," he said.
Now that Mitchell’s seat appears to be firmly in place and a special election set for Tuesday with a DFL candidate heavily favored to win, Senate Democrats are set to be back in a majority by the end of the week.