Walz rips Trump as he seeks accord with GOP at Capitol

Gov. Tim Walz called on Minnesota lawmakers to make the state a model for the rest of the country in what good governing can look like even as he skewered President Donald Trump during an address Wednesday night.

In a speech that mentioned the president or his administration a dozen times, Walz accused Trump of bringing “chaos and destruction” during his first three months in office.

The DFL governor’s State of the State address came as lawmakers have moved into the final phase of the legislative session and are working to finish a two-year state budget. The Legislature must craft bills that can gain support from a narrowly DFL-led Senate and a tied House of Representatives. While lawmakers have a small fiscal cushion now, a projected $6 billion shortfall is on the horizon.

It was the first Capitol address by Walz since returning from an unsuccessful run for vice president. But it often had the feel of a campaign speech, with Walz reading from a teleprompter as he highlighted policies approved under full DFL control at the Capitol and pointed to Trump’s early moves in office as damaging to the fabric of the nation.

He said Minnesota should take a different tack.

“It’s not supposed to be one old man sitting in the Oval Office sending out middle-of-the-night tweets that shock markets into freefall. It’s not supposed to be a bunch of 20-year-olds showing up unannounced at federal agencies and firing everyone. It’s not supposed to be chaos and destruction,” Walz said. “It’s supposed to be people of differing opinions coming together to negotiate in good faith.”

Democrats frequently stood to applaud the governor while Republicans shook their heads and booed as Walz invoked the Republican president. Following the remarks, GOP leaders said the speech was nothing but an extension of Walz’s effort to gain traction on the national stage.

“Unfortunately what we saw here tonight is an extension of what we’ve seen from Democrats in Minnesota,” said House Republican Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey. “Instead of talking about those issues in Minnesota and those challenges in Minnesota, they constantly want to engage in a Trump deflection strategy, where everything is the fault of Donald Trump.” 

Legislative leaders will have to come together to pass a state budget before July 1. If they can’t, the state could face a government shutdown. They have a May 19 adjournment date and legislative leaders said they remained hopeful that they could wrap things up on time.

In the process, Walz said both sides would likely have to accept budget provisions that make them unhappy but expressed hope that they could find a middle ground. 

“I like to think we’ve proven the value of a strong Democratic Party — but also the importance of a Republican Party willing to come to the table and contribute their ideas in good faith,” he said. “No matter what’s happening in Washington, Republicans and Democrats have a record of working together here in Minnesota.”

He said programs like paid family and medical leave, free school meals and earned sick and safe time would not be on the table. He’s proposed bringing down projected costs for disability services over time and lowering the state’s sales tax rate while expanding its reach. Various parts of his budget plan face opposition from segments of both parties. 

Even if they can come together, Walz said lawmakers could also face changes from the federal government that could poke deep holes in the spending plan. He said he’d work to shield the state from some of the potentially adverse impacts of federal budget cuts and policy changes.

“As governor, I’m going to continue to do everything in my power to protect Minnesotans from getting hurt, and provide them shelter from the storm,” Walz said to applause.

DFL leaders said they were glad Walz didn’t shy from mentioning how actions by the Trump administration would have an impact on Minnesota.

“I think you can’t be alive and an American today and not say something about Donald Trump and the chaos that we’re seeing from Washington D.C.,” House DFL Caucus Leader Melissa Hortman said. “And I think you saw in his speech distinguishing between what’s going on in Washington, D.C. and what he hopes will be able to accomplish together here.”

Remarks Walz made about rooting out fraud in state government programs spurred the loudest applause of the night, with members of both parties rising to cheer.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she was hopeful that lawmakers can adopt new policies to prevent state dollars from abuse.

“For six years under his leadership, fraud has gone unaccounted for, there has been no accountability in his agencies,” Demuth said. “So to know that that is being taken seriously, I have to think that is because of Republicans pushing in the House to have a fraud prevention and agency oversight committee.” 

Walz has spent time this year holding town hall meetings all over the country, focused on congressional districts represented by Republicans. He’s not yet said whether he’ll seek higher office or a run for a third term as governor. 

Walz has said he’ll announce his intentions after the legislative session ends. But he said there will be work to do when Trump and others in his administration “disappear into the dustbin of history.”

“And when they do, we’ll have both an opportunity and an obligation to rebuild our government so it actually works for working people,” Walz said.

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, said Walz could seek a third term in 2026 and also leave the door open to run for higher office in 2028. Walz has said he won’t run for a U.S. Senate seat that’s set to come open in 2026.

Pawlenty said Minnesotans will be watching how Walz splits his time between national events and his work in St. Paul – similar to the questions Pawlenty himself faced as he sought a bigger political profile. Minnesotans might be looking for different messages than the Democratic Party’s base, he said.

“If he’s going to also run for governor for a third term, how does he balance those two things – a national audience that wants a fire-breathing, kind of lefty and a Minnesota audience, at least in part, that would prefer somebody more moderate?” Pawlenty told MPR News’ All Things Considered.

MPR News reporter Peter Cox contributed to this story.