House GOP efforts to slash the popular social safety net would give Democrats fodder for the midterm elections.

In the audio clip published online, Walz said, "I see the pundits on TV — 'what's wrong with the Democratic Party?' What's wrong is our country is being stolen by fascists and Nazis."

Earlier this month, Minnesota GOP lawmakers had proposed bill HF 11 that calls for the program to be delayed for a year to further discuss an alternative, but a new bill — HF 1241 — introduced more recently would repeal it altogether, with any unspent funds from the program returned to the general fund.

Two Minnesota GOP Senate leaders called on Gov. Tim Walz to apologize for remarks he made earlier this week in which they claim he compared Republicans to "fascists and Nazis."

Gov. Tim Walz won’t seek Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat next year. Spokesman Teddy Tschann said in a statement Wednesday that Walz instead is considering a run for a third term as governor.

“Our votes weren’t needed, so then our voices weren’t listened to,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said. “This is our opportunity to maybe look at some either fixes or tweaks or changes that might need to be made.”

More than 1 in 4 Minnesota students was chronically absent — missing at least 10% of school days because of unexcused absences or suspensions — last school year.

The current 53-47 breakdown of the Senate leaves the party with a degree of room for error, especially given the presence of Vice President JD Vance as a tie-breaking vote. GOP legislators are hoping to keep the ball rolling.