Good Tuesday morning. Time to catch up on your Labor Day weekend politics news. 1. Fischbach enters 7th District race. Former lieutenant governor and state senator Michelle Fischbach has announced her candidacy for Congress in Minnesota’s 7th District. Fischbach, a resident of Paynesville, is the latest Republican to enter the race, with hopes of facing incumbent Democrat Collin Peterson in 2020. President Trump easily won in CD7 in 2016, with more than 61 percent of the vote, compared to $31 percent for Hillary Clinton. Peterson defeated Republican Dave Hughes 52 percent to 47 percent. Hughes is also a 2020 candidate. Trump played heavily in Fischbach’s news release announcing her campaign. (MPR News)
2. Parting DHS commissioner recommends agency split. Minnesota’s interim Human Services commissioner is leaving the embattled agency with a parting recommendation: Split the department in two. In an email to staff members Friday, Acting Commissioner Pam Wheelock said the Department of Human Services should split off its health care system that deals with mental health, addiction and other treatment services from the agency’s other responsibilities, which range from licensing child-care providers to administering food stamps. The idea of splitting up the department isn’t new. The agency is the state’s largest, with a budget of nearly $18 billion and 7,200 employees. Its services reach more than 1 million Minnesotans. A smattering of lawmakers from both parties, critics and reform-minded observers for years have suggested various ways to break up the agency. In many states, the array of services for the most vulnerable residents, from the physically disabled to the poor, are spread among multiple agencies. (Pioneer Press)
3. Mondale handicaps Klobuchar's chances. Former Vice President Walter Mondale isn't sugarcoating the electoral chances of presidential hopeful and political protégé Sen. Amy Klobuchar. "Right now it's a prayer," Mondale said in a recent interview for a story about Klobuchar's record as Hennepin County attorney. Klobuchar secured a slot in the Sept. 12 Democratic debate, pared down to 10 candidates, but remains stuck in the low single digits in most polls and was not faring well in the DFL Party's bean poll at the Minnesota State Fair. "I love Amy and I'm supporting her all the way," Mondale said, "but I'm worried about where she is now." ( Star Tribune) 4. Officials concerned about impact of Trump immigration rules. Minnesota's top education officials are concerned that recently announced changes to immigration rules will take funding and support away from Minnesota students and schools. The Trump administration last month announced new rules that would penalize legal immigrants who rely on public benefits. The new rule was finalized in mid-August and is set to take effect on Oct. 15. But there are legal challenges. Over a dozen attorneys general across the country, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, have sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the rule. Assistant Education Commissioner Daron Korte said schools are concerned some immigrant families may not sign up for programs they're legally allowed to participate in — such as free and reduced-lunch programs, which aren’t affected by the new rule. "We think it's probably likely there's going to be an overall chilling effect for all state and federal assistance programs because of this rule,” Korte said. “Families aren't going to know necessarily which ones are subject to the rule and which ones aren't." (MPR News)
5. Weber leaves consulting firm. Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman who has provided guidance to Republican presidential candidates and corporate executives, resigned his position Friday as a partner in a prominent consulting firm amid ongoing questions about lobbying work he did for Ukrainian interests. In a letter to the chief executive of Mercury LLC, where he has worked since 2011, Weber wrote that continued attention on his Ukrainian work “has become a distraction for me and for the important work that Mercury is doing.” Weber said he will “focus my time and energy on protecting my reputation.” Weber’s activities have been under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in New York investigating whether he and others complied with laws requiring those working for a foreign country or political party to register with the Justice Department. (Washington Post)
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