NEWS
Minnesota lawmakers expected to vote with parties on resolution to stop Trump’s military strikes on Iran
By Ana Radelat, MinnPost
“Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, who called the attack on Iran ‘disastrous,’ said she has little hope the resolutions would be able to survive a Trump veto. ‘We don’t have the votes,’ she said.”
Wednesday Hour 2: Rep. Betty McCollum & an engaging new book from Dr. Liz Fiedler Mergen
By Drivetime with DeRusha
“Wednesday 5pm Hour: Jason talks to Congresswoman Betty McCollum about today's hearing with Gov. Walz and AG Ellison. Plus, how will she vote on a war powers resolution on Iran? Then he's joined by Dr. Liz Fiedler Mergen about her new book ‘Flowers Bloom Anyway’ telling her story of being widowed in her 30's.”
Opinion | The public wants cleanup at the St. Paul Ford site. Do regulators?
By Colleen O’Connor Toberman, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum is also against a partial cleanup. In her letter to the MPCA, she states: ‘An incomplete cleanup poses a risk to taxpayers. If additional cleanup is needed later due to new scientific findings or changing circumstances and Ford is no longer able to pay, the cost of cleanup would fall to taxpayers.’”
morning take | Hot Seat Hearings
By Blois Olson, morning take
“Via DFL Rep. Betty McCollum, QUOTE: ‘I am heartbroken by the loss of six American service members in the Middle East. The Army has released the names of four of those we lost, including a constituent of mine, Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Amor. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and fellow Soldiers as they grieve this tremendous loss.’”
Historic Federal Cancer Research Funding Increases End an Unprecedented Year of Uncertainty
By Julie Fleshman, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
“We are especially grateful to the leadership of the Appropriations Committee and the Labor-HHS and Defense subcommittees including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), and Rep. Aderholt (R-AL) for working in a bipartisan manner.”
DC judge pauses DHS policy requiring week’s notice for congressional tours of ICE facilities
By Kyle Brown, KSTP
“Morrison was allowed to conduct surprise visits of the Whipple Federal Building — ICE’s home base in Minnesota — after the court intervened, but her colleagues, Reps. Angie Craig, Betty McCollum and Ilhan Omar, were all turned away.”
morning take | Iran War Shifts 2026 Volatility
By Blois Olson, morning take
“Via DFL Rep. Betty McCollum, QUOTE: ‘This military action was launched without Congressional approval and with no imminent threat posed by Iran to the United States. … Let us pray for the U.S. service members who have been given orders to fight this war, for their families, as well as all families in the region who now find themselves in grave danger as a result Trump’s reckless, illegal, and unnecessary decision to go to war.’”
Capitol View: An economic forecast download
By Cait Kelley and Brian Bakst, MPR News
“The weekend U.S. strike on Iran underscores just how much the issue set can and will change between now and November. It’s too early to say how the situation in the Middle East will play out. The early headline is that much of the country’s hardline leadership has been decapitated . It leaves Iran at a crossroads and the U.S. role there open to debate. Republicans largely celebrated the result of the strikes. House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota called it ‘a bold, decisive act of strength by President Trump. The Ayatollah is responsible for killing hundreds of U.S. service members and slaughtering its own people. We pray that because of this leadership, the U.S. and the world will be a safer place.’ Many Democrats are demanding that there be a war powers vote in Congress. ‘Make no mistake, President Trump has unilaterally taken our nation to war. This military action was launched without Congressional approval and with no imminent threat posed by Iran to the United States,’ said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota. With the GOP in charge of both chambers, a vote might not happen if the White House doesn’t want to put members on record. U.S. casualties or boots on the ground could shift public opinion. The Trump voters who wanted less entanglement on the global stage are important to watch here, too.”
U.S.-Israeli strikes spark dueling rallies in Twin Cities
By Soyoung Kim, FOX 9
Some people are criticizing the military operation including members of Minnesota’s DFL delegation. Congresswoman Betty McCollum called the strikes ‘unlawful’ and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called the war ‘illegal and unjustified.’”
Outrage, fear, hope: Minnesotans share varied reactions to U.S. attack on Iran
By Feven Gerezgiher, MPR News
“U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, called the military strikes ‘unlawful’ and said Trump should have gotten approval from Congress.
‘He started another war in the Middle East. He's put our service men and women's lives on the line,’ McCollum told MPR News. ‘State Department, embassy employees, as well as all the civilians that live in the countries now that the United States and Israel are dropping bombs on. This is unnecessary, it's wrong and we need to rein in this president's power.’
McCollum said she's demanding a full accounting of Trump's spending and use of service members and anticipates the president will request more military funding.”
How Minnesota’s members of Congress are reacting to the U.S. military strikes in Iran
By The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Rep. Betty McCollum
McCollum, a Democrat who represents St. Paul, called the strikes initiated without congressional approval ‘an affront to our Constitution and the American people.’”
Community at odds with state over cleanup of St. Paul Ford plant site
By Yvette Higgins, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“‘We should finish the job and require the full cleanup of the site,’ U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul, said in an email to the Star Tribune.”
Trump didn't mention them, but Renee Good and Alex Pretti loomed over State of the Union address
By Bill Hutchinson, Good Morning America
“In a statement released immediately after the State of the Union, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., also mentioned the killings of Good and Pretti.
‘Here in Minnesota, we have seen what happens when President Trump gets his way and a Republican majority in Congress goes along,’ McCollum said. ‘We've seen the damage from masked, unidentifiable federal agents invading and occupying our communities to sow chaos, violence, and division. We've seen Minnesotans racially profiled and assaulted. We've seen the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.’”
Education Minnesota endorses Johnson, McCollum and Omar for Congress
By Education Minnesota
“‘Rep. McCollum has delivered for Minnesota’s educators and students year after year, fighting for improved funding for public schools, students with special education needs and higher education,’ said Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota. ‘When Republicans tried to gut education funding, Betty held the line. That’s exactly the leadership our educators and students deserve.’”
morning take | Minnesota Called Out
By Blois Olson, morning take
“Via DFL Rep. Betty McCollum, VERBATIM: “Team USA made us proud as Americans – especially our fellow Minnesotans who led the nation to earn the most medals at this year’s games…Unfortunately, those who had the patience to listen to the President’s speech tonight had to endure more than 100 minutes of rambling self-aggrandizement and division…When it comes to the reality of the state of our union, we choose to believe our eyes rather than the lies.”
Here's who members of Congress from Minnesota brought to Trump's State of the Union
By Nick Lentz and Aki Nace, WCCO
Melissa Hortman's son attends
Colin Hortman, the son of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, attended with Rep. Kelly Morrison. Rep. Betty McCollum brought Colin Hortman's wife, Alina Bachman Hortman.
Melissa and her husband Mark Hortman were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home last June in what prosecutors called a politically motivated attack.
After their deaths, their children Colin and Sophie Hortman said their parents "touched so many lives" and ‘leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us.’"
Trump blasts ‘fraud’ in Minnesota in State of the Union address focused on the economy and immigration
By Ana Radelat, MinnPost
“To address the issue of political violence, Reps. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, and Kelly Morrison, D-3rd District, brought as a guest Colin Hortman, the son of the late Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman, who were fatally shot in their Brooklyn Park home last June. Colin Hortman’s wife Alina was also invited.”
Tina Smith will skip State of the Union, but Minnesota Democratic colleagues will go
By Christopher Vondracek, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“[Omar] and McCollum, a House member who represents St. Paul and eastern suburbs, say it’s important for Trump to see how Operation Metro Surge, the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, has affected people.
‘President Trump surged into Minnesota hoping to make Minnesota be the poster child for the numbers of thousands of people he wanted detained every day,’ McCollum said. ‘It all went wrong for him. And the brutality was all recorded.’”
MN Dems criticize Trump ahead of State of the Union
By KSTP
“Minnesota House Democrats held a press conference ahead of the State of the Union, criticizing President Trump’s economic policies and immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota. Reps. Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig addressed rising costs, Operation Metro Surge and broader national concerns before the president’s speech.”
Hot Dish: The politics of the guest list
By Sydney Kashiwagi, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Reps. Betty McCollum and Kelly Morrison. Will bring Colin Hortman, the son of the late House Speaker Melissa Hortman, and his wife, Alina Bachman Hortman. Colin Hortman’s parents were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home last June.”