Daily Digest: Another election-year bombshell

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. President Trump will have a second pick for the Supreme Court after Justice Anthony Kennedy said Wednesday he will step down. Let's check the Digest.

1. The Supreme Court is down a swing vote. A Trump nominee is likely to be far more conservative than Kennedy, who, though appointed by President Reagan, voted with the court's liberals in some key cases. Kennedy, who will turn 82 next month, made the announcement the same day the court handed down its last pending opinion for the 2017-18 term. He said he would continue to serve through July 31 of this year. Speaking from the Oval Office soon after Kennedy's announcement, President Trump said Kennedy has "been a great justice of the Supreme Court." Trump also said the process to replace Kennedy will "begin immediately." The president pointed to a list of potential nominees he put together and made public previously. "It will be somebody from that list," Trump said, adding "hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding [as Kennedy]." On a court that has become increasingly conservative, Kennedy's role has been pivotal. In 5-4 decisions, his vote has usually determined the outcome on some of the hottest legal and social issues of the day — gay rights, abortion, campaign finance, gun rights, affirmative action, the war on terror and the death penalty. (NPR)

2. Remember that short list?  Just five months since Judge David Stras joined the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, his prospects for an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court got new life Wednesday upon news of Justice  Kennedy’s retirement. President Trump on Wednesday promised to pick his next nominee from a previous list of 25 judges that included Stras. Those close to Stras have told the Star Tribune that his appearance on Trump’s shortlist caught the now-former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice by surprise. And, after Trump selected Stras for a federal appellate judgeship last year, he kept Stras on a revised version of the list announced late last year. (Star Tribune)

3. Court says public employees don't have to pay "fair share" to unions. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that public employees who decline to join unions are not required to pay "fair share" fees to labor groups that collectively bargain on their behalf. It was a huge setback for public-sector unions, rolling back a 40-year old court ruling that required basic fees to cover representation. The decision won't have a major impact on states where union presence is weak, but in Minnesota, there are nearly two-dozen unions that represent hundreds of thousands of public employees. In all, Minnesota had 411,000 union members in 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That includes public and private-sector unions, but labor experts say a large share, or roughly half of those members, are public sector workers. The unions include Education Minnesota, which represents teachers, AFSCME, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees and Teamsters Local 320. It also includes some public workers represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota School Employees Association and the Service Employees International Union. (MPR News)

4. DFL targets suburbs in race to control Minnesota House. House Democrats are targeting 12 suburban districts held by Republicans as potential pickups. In each, Clinton got more votes for president than Trump did in 2016. DFLers need to gain 11 House seats to flip control. Republicans, who've controlled the House for nearly four years, are confident they'll keep the majority with all 134 seats on the ballot in November. House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, likes her party's chances because of the quality of the candidates who have stepped forward. "When Donald Trump got elected, they said, 'Well, now I really have to get involved. I cannot stand on the sidelines with this going on.'" Hortman said she believes history is on the Democrats' side, that the party opposite of the president picks up an average of 17 Minnesota House seats in midterm elections. But GOP House Speaker Kurt Daudt is confident about holding the majority and notes that House Republicans have their own pick-up opportunities, including seven districts currently held by Democrats where Trump won in 2016. One is in the suburbs. The rest are in rural areas, including two open seats. (MPR News)

5. Complaints continue about MNLARS. Recent upgrades to the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) haven’t stopped deputy registrars from complaining about its performance. They shared their frustrations with state lawmakers Wednesday during a meeting of a MNLARS oversight committee. The faulty system was launched statewide nearly a year ago and complaints about delayed transactions quickly followed. Gaye Smith said the problems have taken a toll on her South St. Paul licensing office. “We are the ones being yelled at, day in and day out,” Smith said. Donny Vosen, a deputy registrar from Brainerd, criticized Gov. Mark Dayton for vetoing legislation that would have reimbursed deputy registrars for MNLARS-related expenses. “If the governor does not understand the severity of what is happening here, he either needs new advisors or he is not listening,” Vosen said. “Governor, if you are listening, I implore you to set your ego aside and call a special session to get this fix started before the whole deputy registrar infrastructure completely collapses.” (MPR News)

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