Minnesota House Speaker Hortman says she’s COVID-positive
[House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, speaks at a news conference Monday, April 4, 2022, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (KSTP)]
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman says she has tested positive for the coronavirus. But the Brooklyn Park Democrat says she won’t be sidelined in the final days of the 2022 legislative session.
She says she’s “fully vaccinated, boosted, and feeling fine
” And she says she’ll continue to participate in end-of-session negotiations remotely. But Hortman’s need to self-isolate will complicate efforts by House Democrats to reach compromises with the Senate Republican majority before the mandatory adjournment date of May 23.
Lawmakers have yet to agree on what to do with around $7 billion of the state’s $9.25 billion budget surplus.