Melissa Hortman murdered days after voting to repeal healthcare for illegals

Minnesota House Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) leader Melissa Hortman was the only member of her caucus to vote in favor of a bill to repeal state-funded health insurance for illegal immigrants.

The bill, which passed the House 68–65, effectively ended eligibility for undocumented adults to participate in MinnesotaCare, a state-subsidized program for the working poor that Democrats had expanded to include them only a year prior.

In the state Senate, four other DFL members also crossed party lines to support the measure, including Majority Leader Erin Murphy, ensuring its passage as part of a broader budget agreement.

Hortman’s vote was described as a strategic "wrenching compromise" to secure Republican support for the state's $66 billion biennial budget and avert a government shutdown scheduled for July 1, 2025.

Because the Minnesota House was evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, at least one DFL member had to vote with the unified Republican caucus for the bill to pass.

While she personally opposed the policy and broke down in tears following the vote, Hortman stated that she "did what leaders do" to finalize the state's fiscal obligations. Tragically, just days after casting this decisive vote, Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their Brooklyn Park home on June 14, 2025.

Law enforcement authorities characterized the incident as a "politically motivated attack" and identified the suspect as Vance L. Boelter, a political appointee of Governor Tim Walz who reportedly targeted multiple politicians.

Another state lawmaker, Senator John Hoffman, who had also recently voted with Republicans on the health care repeal, was gravely wounded in a separate attack believed to be linked to the same individual.