Republican Reps. Elliott Engen of White Bear Township and Walter Hudson of Albertville will be stripped of their committee assignments following a March 27 DWI incident during which Engen was arrested, according to legislative sources who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The move by House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Springs, is just the latest fallout after Engen was arrested in White Bear Lake on suspicion of driving while impaired around 2 a.m. on March 27, and officers charged him with a DWI. Hudson was a passenger in Engen’s truck, and police said Hudson was impaired while carrying his handgun — a misdemeanor in Minnesota. Police did no screening tests on Hudson, so he will not be charged for carrying while impaired due to the lack of evidence. Police that night confiscated Hudson’s 9mm Smith & Wesson. The duo will no longer serve on the House’s public safety, judiciary and education finance committees for the rest of the legislative session, which ends on May 18. Hudson will no longer be on the House fraud committee and Engen will no longer sit on the House rules committee.
Engen and Hudson did not immediately respond to the Reformer’s request for comment.
Roughly 12 hours before the March 27 arrest, Hudson and Engen were spotted at a St. Paul bar watching the Twins’ opening day game, though both later appeared at an evening House floor session.
House DFL Caucus leader Zack Stephenson in a statement said removing Engen and Hudson from their committee assignments wasn’t enough.
“This isn’t even a slap on the wrist. Reps. Engen and Hudson didn’t want to be in committee in the first place; they wanted to go to the bar,” Stephenson said.
On Monday afternoon, House Democrats in a statement said they plan to file an ethics complaint Tuesday against Engen and Hudson after the pair appeared to skip a committee hearing and were spotted at the St. Paul bar.
“Engen and Hudson violated the public’s trust, and this type of behavior has no place in the Capitol,” House DFL floor leader Jamie Long said in a statement.
Republicans and Democrats share power in the Minnesota House, and nearly all the committees have an equal number of members. Demuth, who is a leading candidate for Minnesota governor, will replace Engen and Hudson with other Republican members, so the committees will still have the same partisan make-up, according to legislative sources.
Republicans have a one-seat majority on the House’s fraud prevention committee, which has been investigating and amplifying fraud in Minnesota’s safety net programs.
In recent years, House members have been charged with DWIs but have not been stripped of committee assignments. Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, was arrested in July 2023 on suspicion of drunken driving, and Rep. Brion Curran, DFL-Vadnais Heights, was arrested in October 2023 on suspicion of drunken driving. The Legislature was not in session during either of their arrests, and neither were removed from committees.
In 2024, DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy stripped then-Sen. Nicole Mitchell of her committee assignments after she was charged with felony burglary. Murphy also kicked Mitchell out of caucus meetings.
Committees in the Legislature only have a few more weeks of work.
According to legislative sources, the following GOP legislators will replace Engen and Hudson.
• Education Finance Committee: Rep. Steve Gander, R-East Grand Forks, and Rep. Jimmy Gordon, R-Isanti
• Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee: Rep. Cal Warwas, R-Eveleth, and Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore
• Fraud Prevention and State Government Oversight Policy: Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, will replace Hudson.
• Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee: Rep. Bidal Duran, R-Bemidji, will be elevated to vice chair to replace Hudson. Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, and Rep. Marion Rarick, R-Maple Lake, will be added to the committee.
• Rules and Legislative Administration: Rep. Isaac Schultz, R-Elmdale Township, will be elevated to vice chair to replace Engen. Rep. Keith Allen, R-Kenyon, will be added to the committee.