ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz urged lawmakers Thursday to end a power struggle that has disrupted the first week of Minnesota's 2025 legislative session, but expressed support for House Democrats' boycott of the chamber to block Republicans from wielding power.

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who ran his vice presidential campaign on defending democracy during the 2024 election, has notably remained silent as Democratic lawmakers in his state are threatening a legislative session boycott to deny GOP lawmakers a quorum to elect a speaker and conduct legislative business.

Minnesota Legislature got a dose of normalcy when Gov. Tim Walz unveiled his blueprint for the next two-year budget. The governor also weighed in for the first time publicly on some of the chaos in the Minnesota House.

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday pitched a tighter two-year budget, complete with spending pullbacks and other measures to keep a potential deficit at bay. He also proposed a lower state sales tax rate but called for extending the tax’s reach to financial services.

Walz wants to shift the tax burden to wealthier Minnesotans, but Republican House leaders say any increases are off the table.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz presented his two-year budget proposal on Thursday amid an ongoing power struggle at the Capitol.

Governor Walz’s party has lost control of the Minnesota Legislature and faces mounting criticism as a budget deficit looms.

Walz focused on tackling fraud, cutting state spending and long-term fiscal stability in Minnesota’s 2026-27 budget.

Also included in the proposal would be an increase to the surcharge for health maintenance organizations, cuts of state funding to private schools, and reduce Special Education transportation reimbursement costs.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday sided with Republicans in ruling Gov. Tim Walz prematurely ordered a Jan. 28 special election in the Roseville-area House District 40B. The writ of special election Walz issued on Dec. 27 is now quashed and the election must be canceled, the court ruled.

A pair of high-stakes judicial decisions will shape the next few weeks of the already messy Minnesota legislative session, including a delayed special election to determine control of the House, and a delayed criminal trial that threatens to dominate the proceedings of the Senate.