Deadlocked House rules panel rejects impeachment resolution against Walz, Ellison

Gov. Tim Walz will not be running the state in 2027 and, depending on results of the November election, Attorney General Keith Ellison may be out of his office as well.

However, a resolution on impeachment investigations of a state officer before the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee Wednesday could begin a process that may oust both constitutional officers much sooner.

But neither man needs to polish up their resume after the resolution was rejected along party lines after numerous impassioned, voice-sometimes-raising, anger-driven, partisan talking point-filled statements by members on both sides of the aisle.

House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska (R-Ramsey), the committee co-chair, cited the amount of fraud in state social services programs during Walz’s time in office as a genesis for the resolution. He also expressed concerns about Ellison including a 2021 meeting with a group tied to the Feeding Our Future network where he was heard offering to help them push back against state agencies, and receiving campaign donations from people at that meeting nine days later, although it was returned four years later.