House Democrats in Minnesota’s legislature are threatening to skip out on the first two weeks of the legislative session starting Jan. 14, deepening political discord, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

If the Democrats fail to show up, Republicans won’t have the quorum — meaning the minimum number of people required — that they need to legislate, the Star Tribune reported. At the same time, Republicans are weighing whether they should use their one-seat advantage in the House to refuse to seat a Democratic representative whose election victory is being challenged in court. 

Originally, the Minnesota House was set to be evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, but a judge in the state ruled in December that newly-elected Democrat, Curtis Johnson, wasn’t eligible for his seat because he didn’t live in his Roseville-area district. A special election to fill the seat will be held on Jan. 28, but Republicans will have the advantage until then. 

PRO-ACCOUNTABILITY BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR HAS WORST ABSENCE RECORD: REPORT 

It is assumed that the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party leaders would return to the legislative session if a Democrat were to win the special election, putting the House at a 67-67 tie. 

Republicans were hoping to elect a speaker with their advantage in order to control the House committees for the next two years, but House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman said the parties should govern with shared power since the chamber is likely to be tied again after the special election.

“If there is no power-sharing agreement, we will not be here,” Hortman said during a news conference at the State Capitol on Monday. 

But Republican leaders disagree, arguing there isn’t currently a tie and that they can reach a quorum on their own since there will be 144 chamber members until the special election in January. 

“It completely begs the question of whether or not a true power-sharing was going to work when we see that Democrats are refusing to potentially even come in to work,” State House GOP Leader Lisa Demuth said Monday at a Republican news conference.

WALZ EDUCATION APPOINTEE WHO CALLED FOR THE US GOVERNMENT TO BE ‘OVERTHROWN’ UNDER GOP FIRE: ‘INSURRECTION’

Secretary of State Steve Simon will preside over the House’s first day, where he will make the call about a quorum.

Republicans might also refuse to allow Democratic State Rep. Brad Tabke to take office, as his 14-vote election victory has been contested in court after county elections officials lost 20 absentee ballots in one precinct, the Star Tribune reported. But, the GOP could also simply bar Tabke from taking office based on their own constitutional power regardless of what the judge rules, furthering the GOP advantage. 

Minnesota Legislature House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis. DFL leaders held a morning press conference to lay out the priorities of the DFL majority Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023 St. Paul, Minn.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

“We’re waiting for that judge’s ruling. We will make our determination based on what the judge comes through with,” Demuth said in an interview before the news conference. “But we, of course, asked for a new election. That’s the only way to guarantee a solid election in that area.”

If House Democrats boycott next week’s session, Demuth suggested they could be subject to recall petitions.

“I will expect that they’ll be professional legislators and show up,” Demuth said.

Hortman, however, was optimistic that the parties would come to an agreement before the start of the session, the Star Tribune reported. 

“Things work themselves out. It’s early, it’s a full week before we need to convene,” Hortman said. “We have lots of time to come together and discuss how we can work together, and I’m confident that we will.”

Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo had an eventful Monday night.

On the way to a 128-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors, Anetetokounmpo attempted to block an RJ Barrett layup late in the second quarter. On the attempt, Giannis seemed to catch his pinky on the rim and checked out of the game.

Visibly uncomfortable, the two-time MVP returned to the contest with a wrap on his finger. By doing so, he clinched a historic triple-double, per AP News’ Tim Reynolds. No player has ever posted an 11-point, 12-rebound, and 13-assist triple-double in league history.

After the game, that was not the cause of the most discussion among reporters, rather the health of the Greek superstar was the hot topic at the press conference. Head coach Doc Rivers spoke on Antetokounmpo.

“He needed stitches. He didn’t want to come out because he felt like he could finish, but it kept bleeding. It definitely was affecting him. You could see it really was hurting his ballhandling a little bit,” Rivers said. “I think he’s good. I just think it’s stitches, but I actually don’t know where. I think it’s somewhere on his hand.”

Antetokounmpo required three stitches on his right hand.

After the game, Antetokounmpo did not seem to be concerned, telling reporters that he was “fine” and was not going to “overthink” this injury.

The power forward was previously listed as a game-time decision as they look toward tonight’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs but has been upgraded to probable according to Rivers.

Other ailing Bucks upgraded to available are Khris Middleton, despite surprisingly being listed as out Monday night due to ankle tendinitis, and Andre Jackson Jr., who despite a setback in his back injury will be available for Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo is enjoying an MVP-caliber season, once again. He leads the league in scoring with 31.6 points per game, and is sixth in the league in rebounds with 11.6 per game. Before the injury-impacted Monday night performance, he was averaging 32.3 points per game.

Middleton is another Buck who is a high-impact player, when available. In 12 appearances this season, he is averaging 12.7 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the three-point line.

At 18-16, which is good for the No.5 seed in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee needs all the help they can get as they make another playoff push.

More Bucks: Doc Rivers Lays Into ‘Disappointing’ and ‘Frustrating’ Bucks Losses