The 2025 special session has ended, and the outcome is frustrating for anyone who believes government should exist to serve the people, not itself. After weeks of closed-door, secret negotiations, what passed was a budget that grows state bureaucracy while cutting support for Minnesotans who need it most. I voted against nearly all of these bills -- the only ones I supported were the bonding bill, which was clean and focused on core infrastructure, and the commerce bill.
Despite a $6 billion deficit on the horizon, the new state budget increases funding for Walz administration state agencies by $770 million. At the same time, it cuts $461 million from special education and nursing homes. That is the exact opposite of putting Minnesotans first. It protects government bureaucracy while asking vulnerable families and seniors to shoulder the sacrifice.
The process behind this budget was especially troubling. Most lawmakers were locked out of negotiations. The public had no idea what was going on. The final deal came as a stack of massive bills, rushed through with no real chance for the public to weigh in. There was no opportunity to make changes or improvements, even bipartisan ones. There was barely time for us to read the bills, let alone thoughtfully digest them. This is not how good government operates, and it certainly is not how you put Minnesotans first.
Still, there was one major victory worth noting. The Legislature voted to repeal MinnesotaCare coverage for adult illegal immigrants. This was a program that launched in January with a projected cost of $220 million. But enrollment quickly ballooned to more than 20,000 people, and the cost was on track to surpass $600 million – way beyond what was expected.
That is wrong and unsustainable, especially as we are asking other Minnesotans to make sacrifices to close the $6 billion deficit. Programs like MinnesotaCare were meant to help Minnesotans in need, not to create incentives for people to break the law. Repealing this benefit was a commonsense fix and a clear example of putting Minnesotans first. Other states, like California, had already announced plans to end their versions of this program after experiencing similar skyrocketing costs.
This is money that should be used for programs that support seniors, students, people with disabilities, low-income Minnesotans, and legal Minnesota citizens who are being told to do more with less.
Unfortunately, this win was one of the few to come out of the 2025 session. Instead, Minnesotans were hit with $4.2 billion in new taxes, fees, and surcharges over the next four years. From health care and nursing home costs to technology and daily expenses, working families will feel the impact. Government keeps getting bigger while families are told to tighten their belts.
Reforms and changes that could have made a difference were also blocked. A bipartisan bill to create an independent Office of Inspector General to investigate fraud passed the Senate with strong support, but House Democrats and the Governor refused to act. This was a huge missed opportunity to show Minnesotans we are serious about getting Minnesota’s pervasive fraud problem under control.
In addition to making cuts to nursing homes, this budget increases taxes on nursing home residents by $137 million and cuts nearly $1 billion from disability services. Schools are facing $420 million in cuts, including more than $300 million from special education. This is not responsible budgeting. It asks everyday Minnesotans to pay more and accept less while Walz administration agencies do not do any belt tightening.
To be clear: this budget was a dramatic improvement from what we saw in 2023 and 2024 when Democrats had total one-party control of state government. But we still have much more work to do to put Minnesotans first.