Tom Emmer wants ethics investigation on Democrats picking up town hall slack in his district

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) has requested a House of Representatives ethics investigation on his colleague Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) because she held a town hall in his district.

Emmer is accusing Craig of using his constituents to raise funds for her 2026 campaign and undermining integrity in “our institutions.”

Emmer serves as the majority whip for the U.S. House, where he has been a staunch ally of President Donald Trump’s agenda. Despite Trump’s tariff policy raising costs of goods for Americans, Emmer argued that tariffs would be good for consumers and farmers in the U.S.

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) says Trump’s Canada tariffs will make him popular:

“When people start seeing 270% tariffs, 150% tariffs, 100% tariffs, and they see how it’s screwing our people, this is just going to make Donald Trump stronger.” pic.twitter.com/0x4TdLW9yU

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 14, 2025

Emmer’s only town hall of 2025 was a remote event held on April 2, a strategy Republicans have employed to avoid backlash to Trump’s destructive policies. That remote event is the only town hall event Emmer has held this year.

“This misuse of public resources erodes the trust Americans place in their elected officials and undermines the integrity of our institutions, which is why we are calling on the House Ethics Committee and the Committee on House Administration to thoroughly review Rep. Craig’s conduct,” Emmer said in a letter to the House Ethics Committee sent last week.

In response to Emmer’s ethics complaint, Craig released a statement to KTTC slamming Republicans for avoiding accountability from constituents while the Trump administration “runs roughshod” over the middle class.

“Minnesota’s Republican Representatives have stood idly by while the Administration has started a global trade war, cut thousands of jobs and run roughshod over our government agencies and Minnesota’s middle class. While her Republican colleagues have refused to show up and answer to their constituents in person, Representative Craig is actively showing up in their districts. Once again, her Republican colleagues are trying to avoid doing their job.”

Craig currently represents Minnesota’s 2^nd Congressional District, but she is seen as a potential candidate to make a U.S. Senate run in Minnesota with incumbent Sen. Tina Smith (D) not seeking reelection in 2026.