Republicans could oust more of Gov. Tim Walz’s agency heads

Senators see leverage over what they call overreach. 

Several state agency leaders’ jobs — and the fraying relationship between GOP lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz — could hang in the balance of an upcoming special session of the Legislature.

The DFL governor is expected to call the fourth session of the summer on Friday, despite the possibility that Senate Republicans could use the occasion to vote out more members of his administration.

Republican opposition to the governor’s use of emergency powers for the pandemic came to a head in August when they rejected Nancy Leppink as the leader of the Department of Labor and Industry. Continue reading.