Minnesota Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell has been removed from her committee assignments and won’t participate in caucus meetings following her arrest last week on burglary charges.
“While the case is under review both in the Senate and in the courts, Senator Mitchell will be relieved of her committee assignments and removed from caucus meetings,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St.Paul, said in a statement, Axios reported.
However, Mitchell will still cast votes on the Senate floor, Assistant Majority Leader Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, told the Star Tribune. Without Mitchell’s vote, the DFL, which has just a one-seat majority in the Senate, would not be able to pass legislation without bipartisan support.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said removing Mitchell from her committee assignments is “not enough.”
“This half-hearted punishment is a partisan effort to protect a political agenda and allow Sen. Mitchell to be the deciding vote on the Senate floor,” he said.
“Senate Republicans are committed to getting the business done at the Senate — as we demonstrated last week. But we will not tarnish the Senate’s reputation by voting alongside someone facing felony charges and without a final decision by the Ethics Subcommittee.”
Mitchell, a first-term senator from Woodbury, was not present in the Senate chambers during floor sessions last week. In addition to criminal charges, an ethics complaint has been filed against her. The Senate’s ethics committee is not scheduled to discuss the complaint until May 7.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
