Minnesota flooding prompts response from all sides

By Sydney Kashiwagi

Good morning and welcome back to DC Dish! Recent flooding across the state from the Iron Range to Rapidan Dam has prompted Minnesota politicians to try to figure out what to do next.

GOP: The Minnesota congressional delegation's four Republican Reps. Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad, who represents southern Minnesota, called on Gov. Tim Walz to request a Major Disaster Declaration for those impacted by the recent flooding. They also called on President Joe Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve his request once it is submitted.

WALZ: My colleague Rochelle Olson reported from the state's emergency management operations center in downtown St. Paul Monday as the governor urged Minnesotans to be on the alert. Walz said his office was monitoring the damage to potentially request federal disaster declarations.

Walz noted that the state's disaster assistance fund is robust with $26.4 million right now, and more to come, to the tune of $50 million going into that fund in September. He and Sen. Amy Klobuchar plan to conduct an aerial survey of the southern Minnesota region that's impacted to assess the damage from the flooding later today.

SENATE: Klobuchar, who toured the damage along with Finstad, has indicated support for federal funding while Sen. Tina Smith has said she will do everything she can to ensure the federal government will be a "good partner with the state to help Minnesotans recover from this."

OMAR VS. SAMUELS: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) is condemning Don Samuels for calling Rep. Ilhan Omar a "pawn for Hamas" in a recent interview, saying his remarks are "Islamophobic."

"Don Samuel's comments are deeply Islamophobic and target Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for her religion. This rhetoric also targets her Muslim community, which has come under attack with mosques being attacked, including an attempt to burn a mosque with over fifty children in it by attacker who has been also attacking congresswomen Omars office," CAIR Minnesota's Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said in a statement.

Samuels made these remarks during a recent interview on WCCO when Esme Murphy asked about his position on a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, which they both support. He said a ceasefire call is different because Omar had called for one immediately after the Oct. 7 attack.

SAMUELS SAID: "Based on her previous insensitivity towards Israel the impartiality, was again, seeming to be missing. And in fact, in a way, she becomes almost a pawn for Hamas, and not being able to stake out a balanced position that understands both sides of the issue."

Samuels later clarified in a statement following CAIR's response that because Omar focuses the responsibility for peace on the Israeli government, "it provides Hamas cover and fails to acknowledge Hamas's responsibility to release the civilian hostages and work constructively for peace."

His past remarks on a podcast where he criticized Omar's appearance were also brought up during the WCCO interview, which he denied, despite the audio proof.

ROYCE WHITE: Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a prominent Trump supporter and election denier now running for the U.S. Senate, has endorsed Minnesota GOP-backed Senate candidate Royce White, who announced the news.

Lake's endorsement is noteworthy because she was one of the first Senate candidates this cycle to win former President Donald Trump's backing and also has the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and most Senate GOP leadership.

But her endorsement puts her at odds with NRSC Chairman Steve Daines, who previously said in May shortly after White got the GOP party endorsement, that he does not think White can win in the general election. Daines also told me then that he doesn't think Royce can win a GOP primary either. However, he would not say if the NRSC would back White if he wins the August primary.

ELIZABETH WARREN: Onetime presidential candidate, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, will speak at a rally for Biden today in Minneapolis, my colleague Josie Albertson-Grove reports.

Warren is expected to speak about the damage to democracy she believes Trump could pose in a second term. The campaign confirmed to me this morning that the rally is happening in southern Minnesota but said it could not disclose an exact location of the event due to security reasons.

JANET YELLEN: The U.S. Treasury Secretary is visiting Minnesota this week and announced a new $100 million fund to subsidize financing for affordable housing, Anna Armstrong reports. Yellen spoke on Monday and plans to conduct more meetings with politicians and business leaders on Tuesday.

Today, Yellen is set to hold a roundtable with Klobuchar and small business owners about Community Development Financial Institutions.

TRACKS: The owners of the state's two horse-racing tracks expressed misgivings and strong concerns Monday about Walz's appointment of two tribal leaders to the Minnesota Racing Commission, as Rochelle reports. Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe chief executive Melanie Benjamin and Johnny Johnson, former president of the Prairie Island Indian Community, applied for openings on the commission last Thursday and were appointed Friday, according to state records.

WHERE'S WALZ:

Walz and Klobuchar will survey southern Minnesota by air to assess the damage the storm has caused and then return to St. Paul to give an update. The governor, Klobuchar, Minnesota National Guard Major General Shawn Manke, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson and Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen will hold a 3:30 p.m. news conference giving an update.

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