FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2026
MN GOP: Amy Klobuchar votes no, turns her back on Iron Range union jobs and struggling mining families
ST. PAUL, MN — Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Alex Plechash released the following statement after Senator Amy Klobuchar voted no on H.J. Res. 140, the resolution led by Congressman Pete Stauber to overturn the federal mining ban in Northern Minnesota. The Senate had scheduled final passage for April 16 after taking up the measure the night before, and Klobuchar had already voted nay on the procedural motion to move it forward.
“Amy Klobuchar has spent years hiding behind her family’s mining story. She talks about being the granddaughter of a miner. She wants Northern Minnesota voters to believe that means she understands the Iron Range and will fight for mining families.
“But when the moment came to prove it — when she had the chance to stand up for Northern Minnesota, for union miners, and for the communities that depend on mining — Amy Klobuchar voted no.
“She did this while Iron Range families are already hurting. Last year, roughly 600 miners were laid off at Hibbing Taconite and Minorca, and the unemployment extension for those workers is set to run out in June. Minnesota lawmakers have also been working this year on another extension for more recently laid-off miners because the mining downturn continues to hit these communities hard.
“That is what makes Amy Klobuchar’s vote so cold and so callous. Families are struggling. Workers are worried. Communities are under pressure. And she still sided against the jobs and economic future of Northern Minnesota.
“Her grandfather would be rolling over in his grave watching her turn her back on the Iron Range.
“This was one of the clearest moments of Amy Klobuchar’s twenty years in Washington. When Northern Minnesota needed a fighter, she chose Washington politics over Minnesota workers. When union mining jobs were on the line, she voted no.
“Mining families do not need another speech. They do not need more tears on the Senate floor. They need someone with the guts to fight for their jobs, their future, and their way of life.
“Amy Klobuchar failed that test today, and Northern Minnesota will not forget it.”