State Reps. Elliott Engen, Walter Hudson lose committee posts after drunk driving incident
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State Rep. Elliott Engen and State Rep. Walter Hudson. Photo: Courtesy of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) is stripping GOP state Reps. Elliott Engen and Walter Hudson of their committee assignments following Engen's recent arrest on DWI charges, a legislative source confirmed to Axios.
The big picture: The loss of committee posts, first reported by the Minnesota Reformer, is one of the harshest sanctions by legislative party leaders against a member of their own caucus after a drunken driving arrest in recent years.
- Yes, but: House Committees will only meet for eight more days this session, as House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson pointed out in a statement.
Catch up quick: Hudson was riding in the car with Engen — who's also a GOP candidate for state auditor — when White Bear Lake police say they pulled Engen over early on the morning of Friday, March 27.
- Engen failed a breathalyzer and field sobriety test, according to the police report.
- Hudson was carrying a handgun and told officers a bottle of alcohol in the rear passenger seat was his, per the report. State law doesn't allow concealed carry permit-holders to be under the influence while in possession of a firearm.
- White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager previously told the Reformer that while his officers reported that Hudson appeared impaired, they did not conduct an alcohol screening and will not seek the misdemeanor charge against him.
Plus: The two lawmakers were reportedly spotted drinking beers at a local bar at around 2pm the previous afternoon — during a committee hearing they'd left early. They later returned for an evening session of the full House.
What they've said: Hudson, who's from Albertville; and Engen, of Lino Lakes, both issued statements expressing regret for the incident.
- "I strive to be a man of good character, and my actions fell short last night," Engen wrote on X after his arrest. "I will learn from this. I will do better."
- "I'm grateful that no harm was done to ourselves and others," Hudson told the Reformer.
- Engen did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on the committee decision.
- Hudson told Axios that he assumes "complete responsibility for my poor choices," though he noted that he is facing the same sanction as a DFL senator convicted of felony burglary "despite the fact that I wasn't arrested or charged."
"Republicans will always endure a higher standard, because that's what we hold ourselves to," he wrote in a text message
The other side: "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 in a statement, noting the caucus plans to proceed with an ethics complaint against Engen and Hudson.
- Last week, Stephenson issued a statement demanding to know whether either Republican was "intoxicated" during the floor session.
- "Will Rep. Hudson voluntarily forfeit his permit?" asked Stephenson, who claimed Hudson "clearly violated the law" on drinking with a concealed carry permit.
Flashback: At least five other current and former state legislators have been arrested for drunken driving — two Republicans and three Democrats.
- That list includes Rep. Dan Wolgamott, who is a DFL candidate in the state auditor's race. He pleaded guilty to a DWI charge.
Between the lines: Most of those lawmakers retained their committee posts — and have also won re-election.
- A notable exception was former Republican state Rep. Matt Grossell, who in 2019 was removed from two committees by then-DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman after Grossell's drunken arrest on disorderly conduct and trespassing charges.
- He agreed to enter a court diversion program following that incident and was not convicted.
- He pleaded guilty to drunken driving following a separate incident in 2023 and opted not to run for reelection the following year.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from Hudson and details of Grossell's cases.