"Recess"
MN-06 Daily: March 30, 2026
Congress left town. The shutdown broke the record. The Whip tweeted about sports.
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
A note on this week’s schedule: MN-06 Watch is running light this week. Expect editions today, Wednesday, and Saturday. RvR #10 dropped Saturday — if you missed it, start there.
6 tweets (March 28–30). 3 media appearances (March 27, previously covered). 0 votes. 0 mentions of the shutdown breaking the all-time record. 0 mentions of the No Kings rally at the Minnesota State Capitol.
964 days since Rep. Emmer’s last in-person town hall — August 9, 2023 — Hamburg, MN
DHS Shutdown: Day 45. Now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Both chambers on two-week recess. No return date scheduled.
The Record Falls
On Sunday, March 29, the DHS shutdown became the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing the October-November 2025 shutdown of the full federal government.
Congress is on a two-week Easter recess. The House and Senate left town Friday night having passed competing bills — the Senate’s bipartisan measure funding everything except ICE and CBP, and the House’s 60-day CR funding all of DHS — neither of which can pass the other chamber. No negotiations are scheduled. No return date has been set.
TSA workers began receiving partial back pay today, Monday, via Trump’s executive order from Friday — not through legislation. The White House called on Congress to return from recess. Sen. Mike Lee urged Senate leaders to bring members back. Rep. Jeff Van Drew told CNN he was “really pissed off” and that “there’s fault on both sides.”
Emmer’s X over the weekend: nothing on the record. Nothing on the recess. Nothing on TSA pay arriving via executive action rather than the legislative process he controls.
What He Did Instead
On Monday, Emmer led the Minnesota Republican delegation in sending a letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development requesting the elimination of federal funding for two Minnesota transit projects: the Blue Line Light Rail Extension ($3.2 billion) and the Northern Lights Express commuter rail from Duluth to St. Paul ($600 million). He called them “unnecessary financial burdens” and “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
This is the same representative who voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 — calling it “President Biden’s multi-trillion dollar socialist wish list” — then wrote to Secretary Buttigieg requesting money from it for Highway 65 in Anoka County, including language about serving “ethnically underserved communities.” The infrastructure contradiction is well-documented.
Today, he’s legislating against Minnesota transit while on recess from the shutdown he hasn’t resolved.
100,000 Minnesotans, Zero Acknowledgment
On Saturday, the flagship No Kings rally drew an estimated 100,000+ people to the Minnesota State Capitol (Minnesota State Patrol estimate; organizers claimed 200,000+). Bruce Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” his protest song about the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Gov. Walz, Sen. Sanders, Joan Baez, and Jane Fonda also appeared. Organizers claimed 8 million participants across 3,300 events in all 50 states — which, if verified, would make it the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history.
Emmer’s response: nothing. Not a tweet. Not a statement. Not a dismissal. His constituents filled the Capitol grounds in his own state and the Majority Whip said nothing.
What he did tweet that weekend: Palm Sunday greetings. The congressional hockey game recap. The SCAM Act (his denaturalization bill).
What He Tweeted (March 28–30)
What He Didn’t Mention
The shutdown record. Day 44 broke the all-time record. Not a word.
The No Kings rally. 100,000+ people at the Minnesota State Capitol. Silence.
TSA pay arriving via executive order. The Majority Whip — the man whose job is to pass legislation — watched TSA workers get paid through presidential fiat because Congress couldn’t do its job. No comment.
His own party calling for recess to end. Van Drew (NJ), Lee (UT), and others publicly demanded leadership cancel recess. Tom Homan said he hoped Trump would compel Congress to return. The Whip’s position: unstated.
The Ellison response to the Title IX suit. Minnesota’s AG called the lawsuit an attempt to distract from the war, gas prices, health insurance hikes, and “a partial government shutdown caused in part by his ICE agents killing two Minnesotans.” Emmer tweeted about the suit. He did not engage with the response.
The Questions
The following questions were submitted to Rep. Emmer’s office via his official contact form:
The DHS shutdown is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Do you support canceling the Easter recess to negotiate a resolution?
You led a letter today requesting elimination of federal funding for the Blue Line Extension and Northern Lights Express. In 2022, you wrote to Secretary Buttigieg requesting infrastructure funding for Highway 65 from the same law you voted against. What criteria distinguish projects worth requesting federal money for from projects you consider wasteful?
Over 100,000 Minnesotans gathered at the State Capitol on Saturday for the No Kings rally. Do you have a response to your constituents who attended?
TSA workers began receiving partial back pay today through a presidential executive order, not through legislation. As Majority Whip, does it concern you that the executive branch is funding federal workers because Congress has not?
It has been 964 days since your last in-person town hall in MN-06 (August 9, 2023, Hamburg, MN). Will you schedule one during the Easter recess?
We are still awaiting a response to all previous submissions.
This Substack is reader-supported. Share it with someone in MN-06.
📊 Source Data:
Rep. Emmer Twitter: @GOPMajorityWhip, @tomemmer (March 28–30, 2026)
Rep. Emmer transcripts: Varney and Co, Kudlow, Twin Cities News Talk (March 27, 2026) — covered in March 27 daily
Rep. Emmer press release: Letter to THUD Appropriations Subcommittee re: Blue Line / NLX (March 30, 2026)
CNN: “GOP leaders plan to keep Congress out of session even as pressure to end DHS shutdown grows” (March 30, 2026)
CBS News: “DHS shutdown set to stretch on with Congress on 2-week break” (March 30, 2026)
NBC News: “DHS funding lapse is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history” (March 29, 2026)
Fox News: “Some TSA agents get emergency pay as DHS shutdown drags on” (March 30, 2026)
AP/PBS: “No Kings rallies draw crowds across U.S. and Europe” (March 28–29, 2026)
Star Tribune: “MN No Kings protest: Live updates” (March 28, 2026)
CBS Minnesota: “More than 200,000 attended flagship No Kings rally” (March 29, 2026)
AP/Valley News Live: “Federal Government Sues Minnesota over transgender athletes” (March 30, 2026)
The Hill: “DOJ sues Minnesota, alleging Title IX violations over transgender athletes” (March 30, 2026)
BusinessNorth: “Emmer disses Northern Lights Express” (March 30, 2026)