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This legislative session, the name of a government outsider-turned-dominant figure has increasingly come up inside Minnesota’s Capitol: Elon Musk.

The billionaire is a prominent adviser to President Donald Trump, particularly around his efforts to dramatically slim the federal government. That’s made him a frequent punching bag for Democrats, including in the state Legislature. 

Meanwhile, Republicans are borrowing a bit from Musk’s playbook, suggesting Minnesota inject more of his cost-cutting philosophy into the state’s budget work. 

While the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — and its Musk are a thousand miles away, they’re a central talking point in St. Paul. 

Rep. Tina Liebling said Minnesota should bypass Musk’s approach as lawmakers attempt to combat fraud in government programs. She railed against it during a hearing about a bill that would let state agencies share more information related to fraud in Minnesota programs.

“At DOGE, Elon Musk is saying, ‘Oh, there’s fraud, there’s fraud, there’s fraud,” said Liebling, DFL-Rochester. “And there’s real concern that they are destroying the protections and destroying the ability to function of the entire Social Security system, and they’re doing this across the entire federal government.”

Musk’s DOGE has its admirers here, too. 

Rep. Elliott Engen is among 16 Republicans to introduce a bill this month to create a new state entity here. And it sounds somewhat familiar — the State Commission on Government Efficiency and Ethics. Like DOGE, it would be composed of government outsiders. Its mission is similar to the federal agency.

“I would like to see an independent commission that’s overseeing the ethics and efficiencies within our government, and really allow them and unleash them with the resources to go after bad actors,” Engen, of White Bear Township, said.

The six-person panel could investigate state agencies and the nonprofits they work with. Republicans and Democrats in the House would each appoint three people to the panel. Conflicts of interests among state lawmakers also would be fair game for the commission.

Engen said his idea wasn’t inspired by DOGE, but he thinks the state can emulate Musk’s work.

“That national narrative that’s kind of been picked up on, I think that we should capitalize on that and say, ‘Hey, our government is there. They’re tasked with working for the constituents that we aim to serve. But if we’re not doing that, and it’s going towards fraud, it’s going towards unethical behavior between legislators and how they interact in their private sector work, then we should crack down on that,’” Engen said.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said lawmakers are taking on similar efforts already.

“Legislators can do the work that’s needed,” Demuth said. “We have to almost line by line (review) everything. We have a new thinking about the fraud protections, we have a new whistleblower website.”

She alluded to a new portal created by House Republicans to allow state workers to report potential fraud and abuse of state dollars.

Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth, said she’s worried about how Musk could influence Minnesota. Her focus is on elections.

“We do not want billionaires coming into our state attempting to bribe our citizens and influence our elections,” she said during a Senate Elections Committee meeting this week.

Westlin has advanced a bill making it a felony to offer someone money or a chance to win in exchange for voting in a certain way, registering to vote or signing a petition related to an election. She said it was inspired by Musk’s current campaign to send money to Wisconsin voters for signing a petition opposing certain judges.

“The PAC whose largest funder is Elon Musk himself, is now offering $100 to Wisconsin voters to sign a petition, quote in opposition to activist judges, unquote and an additional $100 for each petition sign or they refer,” Westlin said. “Such schemes prey upon those who may be experiencing financial difficulty, and is a clear attempt to buy influence with voters.”

Musk announced Wednesday that his political action committee America First 

 as a prize for signing onto the petition.

Sen. Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, opposed the bill prohibiting similar efforts. He said DFLers have become too focused on Musk.

“Democrats have this selective outrage against Elon Musk and characterize him as a bad billionaire,” Lucero said.

Invoking Musk is a double-edged sword as DFL Gov. Tim Walz recently learned. 

He cheered the drop in Tesla stock, Musk’s company. Then came blowback given that Minnesota’s investment portfolios have considerable Tesla shares. Walz has since called the stock remarks a joke. 

But neither he nor Democrats appear to be letting up on the Musk bashing.

Dana Ferguson

Author

Billionaire and top Trump adviser Elon Musk is reshaping the federal government. In Minnesota, Democrats are increasingly turning Musk mentions into a punching bag. And Republicans say his work could be replicated in St. Paul.

DFLers at Minnesota Capitol rip Musk’s ideas while the GOP wants a closer look

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