Republicans accused Democratic nominee for vice president Gov. Tim Walz of a power grab in Minnesota after he was slow to demand a resignation from an embattled state lawmaker.
Vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz waited to call on an embattled Democratic state lawmaker charged with burglary to resign until after the Minnesota legislative session ended in May and her critical vote was no longer needed.
State Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury was arrested at her stepmother's home on April 22 and is charged with felony first-degree burglary for allegedly breaking in to get her late father’s ashes and some of his personal belongings. Mitchell has denied the allegations and sought to have her charges dismissed.
The arrest prompted the Minnesota Senate to remove Mitchell from her committee assignments and caucus meetings. Republicans were quick to demand that she immediately resign, but Democratic leaders, including Walz, did not follow suit until after the legislative session ended nearly a month later, on May 19.
GOP leaders say the episode demonstrated how Walz did what was politically expedient as governor rather than what was right.
DEMOCRATIC MINNESOTA STATE SENATOR'S OWN PARTY CALLING FOR HER RESIGNATION AFTER BURGLARY CHARGE
"Democrats in Minnesota turned a blind eye to the criminal actions of their colleagues for one simple reason: to maintain power," Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"Just like when he passed off blame for nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money being lost to fraud, Tim Walz will pass the buck on doing what's right unless it benefits him and his far-left agenda. He has no business being VP and will put his own agenda and reckless pursuit of power over the needs of Americans if he makes it to Washington."
Democrats held a 34-33 majority at the time, making Mitchell's vote crucial to enacting key legislation. Minnesota Democratic-Farmor-Labor Party Chairman acknowledged as much in his statement calling for Mitchell to resign, which noted her constituents "had full representation through the end of the legislative session."
"The Minnesota DFL believes that all elected officials should be held accountable, including members of our own party. While Sen. Mitchell is entitled to her day in court, her continued refusal to take responsibility for her actions is beneath her office and has become a distraction for her district and the Legislature," Martin said in a May 30 statement, ten days after the session closed.
"Now that her constituents have had full representation through the end of the legislative session, it is time for her to resign to focus on the personal and legal challenges she faces."
Walz told FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul he agreed with Martin's statement and that Mitchell should resign.
In comments to MPR News, the governor called the allegations facing Mitchell "disturbing" and said that "public servants need to be held to a higher standard."
Republicans slammed the delayed response from Democratic leaders at the time.
"Without new evidence or information in the accusations against Sen. Mitchell, this statement from DFL Chair Ken Martin is a clear admission Democrats were so desperate to pass their highly partisan agenda they were willing to use votes of an alleged burglar to do it," Johnson said in response to Martin's statement.
"Democrats abused their political majority and embraced Sen. Mitchell because it served their political purposes instead of working in a bipartisan way for Minnesotans. Anyone paying attention could see this coming – now that they no longer need her vote, they are ready to cast her aside.
"This shameless pursuit of political power is not what Minnesotans deserve from their elected leaders."
The Harris-Walz campaign and the office of Gov. Walz did not respond to requests for comment.
According to a criminal complaint, Mitchell acknowledged that she entered through a window and told investigators she was trying to get her late father's ashes, photos, a flannel shirt and other items of sentimental value, claiming her stepmother had stopped speaking to her after her father’s death and refused to give her the items.
Mitchell appeared in front of an ethics panel on May 7, but invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to speak.
Mitchell, of Woodbury, Minnesota, has represented District 47 since she was elected to the state Senate in 2022. She was previously a meteorologist for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.
A hearing for Mitchell's case has been delayed to Aug. 30 in Becker County District Court, the Detroit Lakes Tribune reported.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
