Dear Fourth District Constituent,

 

Donald Trump is single-handedly tanking our economy, and he’s taking the world’s economy down with it. His erratic, impulsive, and irrational tariff actions on our friends and foes alike are raising prices for Minnesotans and causing instability and uncertainty for our economy. Americans' retirement accounts are suffering, businesses are pulling investments, and our allies are losing faith in America’s word. The resulting collapse of markets and future uncertainty has many analysts warning that the risk of recession is growing quickly. The president’s acts of economic malpractice are being enabled by Republicans who control the House and the Senate. These actions are destroying what had been the world’s strongest economy, and Americans are paying the price. My fellow Democrats and I are fighting back, while Republicans are cheering him on.

 

Voting NO On Republicans' Budget Plan for Medicaid & SNAP Cuts and Billionaire Tax Giveaways
On Thursday, I voted NO on the House Republicans' budget. They add $14 TRILLION in new debt over the decade — more than DOUBLE what the federal government spends each year! Republicans are forcing the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history and cuts to food assistance to pass massive tax cuts for billionaires like Elon Musk. One out of four Minnesotans rely on Medicaid for health care access —children, working parents, seniors, people with disabilities. In the Fourth Congressional District, 54,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP to put food on their table, especially children and seniors.

 

I’ll continue to resist Republican efforts to take away food, healthcare, and government services that Minnesotans rely on.

 

 

 

I look forward to joining State Legislators representing MN-04 who have organized a town hall tomorrow at 1pm to discuss the impact of looming federal cuts on the state budget. I'll join Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and Representatives Kaohly Her, Samakab Hussein, Liz Lee, Maria Isa Pérez-Vega, Dave Pinto, Jay Xiong, and Leigh Finke to discuss what's happening in Washington, answer questions from constituents, and discuss the path forward for our communities.

 

Thank you all for the record amount of correspondence my office has received this year. The location will be sent out via email to those who register here. Hearing from you is very important for the work I do for you in Washington.

 

All fifty states, including Minnesota, rely upon federal funding to maintain government services at the state level. As Elon Musk and President Trump slash federal support with the help of the Republican Congress, our state government stands to lose hundred of millions of your federal tax dollars. In order to track these actions, Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan have established a new federal dashboard to keep tabs on federal cuts and their impact on Minnesota's state budget.

To view the State's Federal Funding Disruptions Dashboard, visit the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget Website.

 

Joining Thousands of Minnesotans Telling Musk/Trump: “Hands Off” Our Communities
Minnesotans will not tolerate the illegal, unconstitutional, and reckless actions of this White House. Along with many of you, last Saturday I joined 25,000 Minnesotans at the State Capitol to demand that Elon Musk and President Trump keep their “Hands Off” of our communities. See my remarks below: 

 

 

Minnesota's world-class infrastructure is the result of our state's hardworking and highly skilled workers. The Trump administration is waging a brazen assault on working men and women. One of his first acts was to freeze infrastructure projects in Minnesota and across the country that communities and workers are relying on to put people to work building and repairing critical water, transportation, energy, and broadband projects. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) projects stopped by the Trump administration provide historic investments in our workforce and economic growth. 

Pausing or withdrawing federal funding for the projects that build our state will set us back, threaten the livelihoods of those in the trades, and harm us economically. I met with LiUNA in my office while they visited D.C. for the North America’s Building Trades Unions Convention and discussed how we can work together to keep America’s unions strong.

 

 

President Trump’s attacks on workers includes his recent Executive Order that strips away collective bargaining rights from 75% of federal workers and illegal mass firings of public servants and removal of non-Republican members of federal agencies that safeguard workers’ rights. This isn’t just a DC problem, this hits home in Minnesota where we have more than 18,000 federal public servants in vital jobs, including providing health care at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, keeping our airports and skies safe, and delivering our mail. I’ll continue to join workers in solidarity by speaking out and defending workers from the administration’s attacks, including joining “friends of the court” briefs and letters and legislation.

 

Woodbury Mayor Anne Burt visited my Washington, D.C. office this week, where we talked about PFAS mitigation and funding for local community projects. Woodbury was among the Minnesota communities that lost federal funding for local projects when Republicans abandoned local infrastructure funding in their Fiscal Year 2025 funding bill, including a project mitigate flooding on Weir Drive. As the House prepares to consider Fiscal Year 2026 funding bills, I remain focused on assisting Woodbury’s infrastructure needs however I can.

 

I’m so pleased to have Senator Smith as a strong partner in our effort to defend the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a national treasure and priceless reserve of clean water. This is the first time that a bill has been introduced in the Senate to permanently protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide mining pollution. Alongside my decade-long legislative effort in the House, Minnesotans are leading the charge to permanently protect the BWCA.

 

 
State and Federal Taxes are Due in Four Days
Tax filing is underway. Free file is now open! Visit the IRS website to see if you are eligible for other free preparation and filing options. Do not delay. If you need more time to complete your taxes, you should file an extension as soon as possible. 

 

April 15th Service Information Academy Night at Mounds View High School 
Interested in applying to a US Service Academy? I will be hosting an event at Mounds View High School on Tuesday, April 15th at 6:30 pm with Academy Representatives to discuss the programs, opportunities, and what life is like at the academies. We will also be discussing the Congressional nomination process. Learn more here.
 

REAL ID Deadline Approaching
REAL ID enforcement begins on May 7th. Your state driver’s license or ID must be a REAL ID to board U.S. domestic flights or enter certain federal buildings. An enhanced driver’s license, passport book, or passport card are also approved IDs for domestic travel.  For more info, visit the Department of Driver and Vehicle Services.

 

Congressional Art Competition
The 2025 Congressional Art Competition is officially underway! I invite all high school students who live or attend school in the Fourth Congressional District to submit an entry. All entries are due in my Saint Paul office no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 15th. The entries will be displayed in the Atrium Gallery of the Schmidt Artist Lofts as part of the 2025 Spring Saint Paul Art Crawl, April 25-27, 2025. The winning entry from the Fourth District will be displayed as part of a national exhibit in the U.S. Capitol. Entries by the runners-up will be displayed in my congressional offices in Saint Paul and in Washington, D.C. For more details, visit my website.