ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Latest on Sen. Michelle Fischbach being sworn in as lieutenant governor (all times local):
10:20 a.m.
Minnesota has a full-time lieutenant governor once more.
Longtime Republican Sen. Michelle Fischbach was sworn in Friday morning to join Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. Fischbach was thrust into the job automatically in January when Dayton appointed Tina Smith to the U.S. Senate.
But she resisted taking the oath or performing the job’s duties for months as she sought to maintain her Senate seat. A Democratic constituent sued her twice challenging the dual roles.
She says that the end of the legislative session changed that calculus. Fischbach says she expects the lawsuit to be withdrawn later today.
8 a.m.
Sen. Michelle Fischbach is set to take an oath of office as lieutenant governor after months of resisting the role.
Gov. Mark Dayton’s office says Fischbach will be sworn in Friday morning to serve as the Democratic governor’s No. 2. It’s an apparent change of heart for Fischbach, a Republican who was automatically elevated to the role by state law after Dayton appointed Tina Smith to the U.S. Senate.
Dayton will call a special election to fill Fischbach’s central Minnesota seat.
Fischbach and Democrats had skirmished over whether she had to give up her Senate seat - a critical question with Republicans holding just a one-seat advantage in that chamber. And Fischbach had been sued twice over trying to hang on to the seat.
Fischbach did not immediately respond to messages left at her Senate office.
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