Stating that “Republicans have slow walked it to death,” Governor Dayton said he will no longer pursue a special session to aid idled Iron Range Steelworkers, tackle economic disparities, and fix Real ID. This is, apparently, good news for Kurt Daudt and Republicans who’ve dragged their feet since the beginning of special session talks, and bad news for the more than 2,000 Iron Range families who have seen their unemployment benefits run dry, communities of color, and Minnesotans who are relying on these legislative actions.

Governor Dayton first expressed his desire to hold a special session to aid idled mine workers in November, holding meetings with Kurt Daudt and leaders for weeks that resulted in nothing but excuses from the GOP as to why helping these workers, and pursuing an expanded agenda to fix Real ID and aid communities of color, could wait.

This Republican resistance to compromise heading into the legislative session is setting the tone for a repeat of last year, when Republicans refused to compromise with Governor Dayton, forcing a special session over the summer to keep state government functioning. Already, they’re teeing up a big business tax cut to help their corporate backers, and will likely spend the legislative session saying ‘no’ to Governor Dayton and any type of reasonable agenda to benefit all Minnesotans.