As new federal policies and executive orders continue to emerge from President Donald Trump’s administration and the U.S. Congress, Minnesota legislators are trying to mitigate possible impacts.

The Minnesota Senate DFL caucus announced Sept. 9 the formation of a select subcommittee on federal impacts on Minnesotans and economic stability. The subcommittee consists of eight Democrats and four Republicans, according to committee member Sen. Mark Koran (R-Cambridge).

The committee’s focus is to evaluate how federal policies, such as Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, will impact Minnesotans and the state’s economy, said Sen. Lindsey Port (D-Burnsville), the committee’s Democratic chair.

“We still don’t have a full understanding on a lot of these policy changes,” Port said. “What does that look like on the local level, on the county level, in schools, in hospitals, all of those places where people interact with services?”

The committee will meet every week this fall, alternating weekly between traveling to sites across Minnesota and more traditional discussion-style hearings.

Port said the primary focus is to hear from Minnesotans on how federal changes will impact them.

The committee will visit a Rochester food shelf at the first meeting on Thursday and meet with people who utilize it. 

“We have a long list,” Port said. “Looking at rural hospital closures and consolidation, looking at access to disability care for children, looking at the impact on higher education.”

Part of their goal is to better orient legislators when the session begins in February and be ready for them to address any impacts of new federal policy, Port said. 

Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Byron), the Republican lead on the committee, said she is glad the committee is working together and believes the committee is very important to understanding how federal changes impact Minnesotans. 

“I think knowledge is always powerful,” Nelson said. “I think that should help us as we move forward in how to best position Minnesota. I think we all agree that we want Minnesota to thrive, and we want Minnesotans to thrive.”

Committee vice chair Sen. Rob Kupec (D-Moorhead) said in an emailed statement he sees a great need for the committee amidst economic challenges, such as tariffs, coupled with reduced federal funding. 

“With two colleges in my district, people are worried about less higher education funding and changes to student loans that’ll shift even more costs onto families,” Kupec said.

What remains unanswered 

Many changes in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will be rolled out over the course of a decade, Port said. 

“So for people to be able to understand, like, ‘Okay, if I’m receiving this service, when are these requirements gonna change?’” Port said. “We’re going to help answer those questions.”

Port said policy changes have come through executive orders rather than policy briefs. There are not answers to all of the questions institutions have.

The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has not received clarification on new federal policies, Port said. Typically, legislative teams receive policy guidance documents from the federal administration that clarify the meaning of federal policy and provide compliance outlines.

“The person they used to get that from was laid off,” Port said. “They don’t know how to implement the policies. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”

Koran said the challenges Minnesota faces are a combination of federal changes and Minnesota legislation that has been passed. Nelson also said part of the equation considers what has previously transpired in the state legislature that is now impacting Minnesota.

Overall goals of the committee  

The Minnesota legislature needs to hit the ground running in February to mitigate some of these impacts, Port said. 

“I really want to use this time and space to hear from the real experts on the ground who are trying to keep things implemented or trying to implement changes,” Port said.

The goal is to ensure Minnesotans and the legislature understand both the logistical and human impacts of new federal policy and executive orders.

“The more we can be focused on the actual impacts in our communities, the more ability we have to take that partisanship out of it and talk about it in a solution-based and information-based way,” Port said.

The goal for the committee remains the same bipartisan goal. 

“We want people to raise their families here, start their businesses here, stay here when they retire,” Nelson said.