Tim Walz

Rule Changes

Under federal criminal investigation

The U.S. Senate passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill by voice vote at 2:20 a.m. on March 27, 2026, ending a partial shutdown that began February 14 for most agencies but excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations and most U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The bill, providing back pay to 272,000 affected employees including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, awaits House approval. On March 28, President Trump signed an executive order directing DHS to pay 61,000 TSA officers using available funds, addressing massive airport delays from over 500 quits and high callouts during spring break. TSA officers began receiving paychecks on March 30 as the shutdown reached 45 days, the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

Updated Mar 30

Force in Play

Leading state's recovery and investigation efforts

From December 4, 2025, to February 12, 2026, Minneapolis became the testing ground for the largest federal immigration enforcement operation in American history. Operation Metro Surge deployed 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities, resulting in over 4,000 arrests—and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers. On February 12, White House border czar Tom Homan announced the operation's conclusion, declaring Minnesota 'now less of a sanctuary state.'

Updated Feb 12

Force in Play

Put National Guard on alert; announced abandonment of re-election campaign

States continue challenging federal immigration enforcement on multiple fronts as the legal battle expands beyond state governments to schools and civil rights organizations. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez denied Minnesota's request for a temporary restraining order against Operation Metro Surge on February 2, 2026, citing insufficient proof of constitutional violations despite acknowledging evidence of racial profiling and excessive force. On February 4, a coalition of Minnesota school districts and educators filed a separate federal lawsuit seeking to block ICE enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, citing traumatized students, lockdowns, and a 22% spike in daily absences following the January 7 killing of Renee Good. The crisis has escalated with two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens—Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24—prompting the DOJ Civil Rights Division to open a formal investigation into Pretti's death on January 30, now led by the FBI.

Updated Feb 11

Rule Changes

Not seeking reelection; term ends January 2027

Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican governor since 2006. Senator Amy Klobuchar wants to keep it that way. On January 29, 2026, she announced her candidacy for governor, entering the race three weeks after Tim Walz abruptly dropped his bid for a third term amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total $9 billion in stolen state funds. Early polling shows Klobuchar leading all potential Republican opponents by 14 to 20 percentage points. On February 4, Minnesota's precinct caucuses revealed the GOP primary landscape: House Speaker Lisa Demuth won decisively with 31.8% of the vote, followed by businessman Kendall Qualls at 25.2% and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at 17.6%. Hours after Klobuchar's January 29 announcement, Border Czar Tom Homan signaled the federal government may reduce its immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota if state officials cooperate—a development that could reshape the campaign's central tension.

Updated Feb 5

Rule Changes

Activated National Guard; served grand jury subpoena by DOJ

A brief three-day partial government shutdown ended February 3 when the House passed the Senate's split funding package 217-214 and President Trump signed it into law, providing full-year appropriations for five agencies through September while extending Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding via a two-week continuing resolution through February 13. The shutdown stemmed from Senate Democrats blocking a $1.2 trillion spending package on January 29 after two fatal shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis within three weeks, prompting President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to negotiate the funding split.

Updated Feb 5

Force in Play

Under federal criminal investigation for alleged conspiracy to obstruct ICE operations

An ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Good through her car window on a Minneapolis street January 7, killing the 37-year-old mother instantly. Federal officials claimed self-defense, saying Good weaponized her Honda Pilot to ram agents. But video shows something different: a woman slowly backing up and pulling forward, trying to leave, before an officer fires three shots into her head. "Having seen the video myself, that is bullshit," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The shooter: Jonathan Ross, a 43-year-old deportation officer who was dragged fifty yards by a vehicle he tried to forcibly enter just six months earlier. Seventeen days later, on January 24, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and legal gun owner. Video shows Pretti filming agents with his phone, getting pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground by six agents, then shot at least ten times. DHS claimed he was armed and violent. Video evidence again contradicts the official account. At least six federal prosecutors resigned in protest over how investigations were being handled—pressure to investigate victims' families rather than the shooters. On January 24, FBI agent Tracee Mergen, supervisor of the Public Corruption Squad in Minneapolis, resigned over pressure to "reclassify/discontinue the investigation" into Good's killing and focus instead on her widow Becca. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara noted that two of the city's three homicides in 2026 were committed by federal agents.

Updated Feb 5

Rule Changes

Received Bondi letter conditioning ICE withdrawal on data provision

The Justice Department wants every state's unredacted voter file—names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers for roughly 160 million registered voters. Since May 2025, DOJ has demanded these records from at least 44 states. Twenty-five jurisdictions refused and are now being sued. In late January 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi escalated tactics by conditioning the removal of ICE and CBP agents from Minneapolis on Minnesota providing voter rolls and welfare data, drawing accusations of coercion from state officials and Senate Democrats.

Updated Feb 4

Force in Play

Preparing National Guard deployment

ICE agent Jonathan Ross fired three shots in 700 milliseconds, killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car on a Minneapolis street. Good was a U.S. citizen, a mother of three, standing with her wife to support neighbors during Trump's self-proclaimed "largest immigration operation ever"—2,000 federal agents deployed to Minnesota. Federal officials claim she tried to run over Ross. Minneapolis officials who reviewed video footage called that story "bullshit." Within a week, the Trump administration announced deployment of 1,000 additional federal officers to Minnesota, prompting the state and its two largest cities to file federal lawsuits challenging the enforcement surge.

Updated Jan 13

Force in Play

Dropped 2026 reelection bid on January 5, 2026; serving remainder of term

On January 5, 2026, Governor Tim Walz became the highest-profile political casualty of Minnesota's welfare fraud crisis, announcing he would drop his bid for a third term. The stunning reversal came just two days before a contentious January 7 House Oversight Committee hearing where Republican state lawmakers testified that Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored rampant fraud and silenced whistleblowers. Within 24 hours of that hearing, the Trump administration dramatically escalated its response: on January 6, HHS froze $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding to five Democratic states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—citing fraud concerns but providing no evidence of wrongdoing outside Minnesota. A coalition of the five states sued immediately, and on January 9, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted a temporary restraining order blocking the freeze for 14 days. Hours later, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced USDA would suspend an additional $129 million in federal awards to Minnesota, prompting Ellison to vow 'I'll see you in court.'

Updated Jan 10

Force in Play

Authorized National Guard deployment through January 2, 2026

A rapidly intensifying winter storm—a bomb cyclone with pressure plunging to 975 millibars—slammed the Midwest during the year's busiest travel weekend. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency December 28 and deployed the National Guard the next day after Freeborn County's sheriff requested military help to rescue motorists stranded on whiteout highways. Interstate 90 closed and remained under no-travel advisory through Monday morning. So did I-35. Over 10,000 flights delayed nationwide Sunday, with disruptions continuing Monday (800+ delays, 300+ cancellations). At least one person dead in Iowa, and Minnesota State Patrol logged nearly 400 crashes between Sunday midnight and Monday morning—29 with injuries.

Updated Dec 29, 2025