House Republicans choose Niska to lead caucus as minority leader

Rep. Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) was named minority leader by his caucus Friday morning.

First elected to the House in 2022, Niska served as the Republican floor leader during the 2025-2026 biennium when the House was evenly split with 67 members from each caucus.

The House is projected to have a 77-57 DFL advantage, pending a recount in one House district, after Tuesday’s election. Minnesota Republicans fared slightly better than Republicans nationwide because of the accountability problems with fraud and an affordability problem in Minnesota, Niska said.

During the DFL trifecta in the next two years, Niska said he hopes the open dialogue that House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman had before the latter was killed in June 2025 continues between himself and Speaker-designate Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids).

“I hope that there’s going to be a similar ability to at least talk to each other and understand that even if they don’t need our votes, that they are going to treat us with respect,” Niska said.

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Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia), who served as the Republican whip during the 2025-2026 biennium, was named the deputy minority leader.

“Our job is to remind Minnesota that we are now in another trifecta and we’re having to clean up the mess that was created by the last trifecta,” Nash said.

Republicans are willing to help reduce government spending to address the structural deficit in the state budget, and they also plan to hold Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar to her word that there won’t be new taxes, Nash said.

Niska added that he appreciates the contrast between the actions of the DFL trifecta during the 2023-2024 biennium and what Republicans have seen from DFLers since Tuesday’s election.

Niska said Republicans agree with Klobuchar on many issues that she discussed during her gubernatorial campaign, including not raising taxes and having a pro-business growth agenda.

“But I am worried about the difference between what she campaigned on and what the DFL House and the DFL Senate campaigned on – an agenda that would be about $14 million of new spending at a time when we’re already in a structural deficit,” Niska said.

House Republicans also plan to hold Klobuchar and House DFLers accountable if they raise costs for Minnesotans and don’t continue the work on addressing fraud in state programs, addressing public safety issues and improving education outcomes.

“Minnesotans sent a message, just like voters across the country sent a message, and it was really a message about what’s happening in Washington, D.C.,” Niska said. “We do not believe Minnesotans sent a mandate for what the radical left has proposed in this election and we intend to fight for everyday Minnesotans every single day over the next two years.”

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In the coming biennium, House Republicans plan to focus on reducing costs, property taxes and gas taxes, Niska said. “We understand Minnesotans are feeling the pressure of higher energy prices because of the global energy market, and we need to do everything we can to give them relief about that.”

Fraud in state programs will continue to be a priority for House Republicans, who support a “top-to-bottom audit of state government,” Niska said. They also want to make it easier to prosecute fraud, ensure the right person is chosen as the state’s new inspector general, and fully fund the Office of the Inspector General.

House Republicans also support the state opting into the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a federal tax credit created in the One Big Beautiful Bill that supports private contributions to K-12 scholarships for education-related costs.