To ban or not to ban: Minnesota lawmakers disagree on TikTok

Minnesota lawmakers this week were split on whether the United States should ban TikTok, a widely popular social media platform that has a Chinese owner.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-3^rd District, and Ilhan Omar, D-5^th District, voted against a bill that was approved by a huge bipartisan majority, 352-65, that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the video app or be banned in the United States.

“TikTok is a (Chinese Communist Party) spy app. Plain and simple,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6^th District, posted on X. “House Republicans just passed a nonpartisan bill protecting Americans’ data by sending a clear message: TikTok must sever ties with the CCP or lose its access to American users.”

Meanwhile, former Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he’s putting together a group of investors to try to buy TikTok.

The federal government has already banned the TikTok app on federal employee devices and the Biden administration lobbied lawmakers to support the TikTok bill, saying Chinese ownership of the platform poses grave national security risks to the United States.

Yet Phillips voted “no” on the legislation, saying all apps should be scrutinized for violations of privacy and threats to national security.

“Disinformation and personal data privacy are national security issues — not limited to foreign adversaries,” he said on X. “That’s why a comprehensive assessment process and safety standards applied to ALL apps is the correct and Constitutional approach.”

Omar said the bill “raises concerns about the First Amendment” and that the federal government should target not only TikTok, but also set a standard for all social media platforms. She also noted that she represents the youngest congressional district in the state — and TikTok users trend young.

Like Emmer and Reps. Pete Stauber, R-8^th District, and Michelle Fischbach, R-7th District, the majority of House Republicans who voted for the bill ran counter to former President Donald Trump, who opposes the legislation and said he is concerned banning TikTok would make Facebook parent Meta a stronger company.

The bill approved by the U.S. House escalates tensions between Beijing and Washington and now goes to the U.S. Senate. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not said he will hold a vote on the legislation and there are a number of both Democratic and Republican senators opposed to the bill.

Even if the TikTok bill becomes law, it would most certainly be challenged in court.

Not so sweet

In an effort to tamp down spiking sugar prices and shortages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has raised the amount of imported sugar that can come into the United States at low tariffs.

It also said it could open the door wider to imported sugar again if necessary.

That provoked a swift reaction from Rep. Brad Finstad, D-1^st District, who said the move “undercut” Minnesota’s sugar beet farmers.

“Minnesota sugar beet farmers produce the highest quality, most sustainably grown sugar in the world. The Biden Administration’s decision to ignore Congressional authority and more than 15 years of precedent undercuts American farmers and puts at risk the strong U.S. sugar policy that our domestic industry relies upon,” Finstad said in a statement.

The USDA sugar program is a price support program that uses, in part, limitations on how much imported sugar can enter the United States at low tariffs. But last week, the USDA announced it would allow an additional 125,000 metric tons to be imported in the United States on a tariff-friendly basis.

“These actions are being taken after a determination that additional supplies of raw cane sugar are required in the U.S. market,” said Daniel Whitley, administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, in an announcement in the Federal Register.

World sugar prices have spiked due to drought and other poor weather conditions in India, Mexico and other sugar-producing nations.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report in October that recommended allowing more imported sugar at low tariffs into the United States.

Citing the results of a 2017 study, the GAO said “sugar had by far the highest trade protection of any U.S. good, agricultural or non-agricultural.”

While congressional supporters of sugar producers may chafe at the Biden administration’s actions, they are hampered by the failure of Congress to pass a farm bill this year that would reauthorize the sugar program — and perhaps allow them to make changes.

Ventura back in the ring?

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., told the New York Times that he spoke with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura about joining him as a running mate in his quest for the White House.

Kennedy said he will announce his running mate on March 26 and that Rodgers and Ventura are at the top of his list. Kennedy needs to name a running mate before he can seek access to the ballot in many states.

Ventura is a former professional wrestler and mayor who won an election for governor in 1998 as an independent and served one term.

Ventura, however, is not an anti-vaxxer, something that Kennedy is known for. Rodgers, on the other hand, is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist like Kennedy. It was also discovered this week that Rodgers has shared false Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy theories in private conversations.

Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, began his presidential campaign as a Democrat but left the Democratic Party last year in protest of its nominating process and launched a third-party bid.

According to polling, Kennedy, 70, is pulling votes away in nearly equal measure from President Biden and Donald Trump.

Morrison picks up support

The DFL establishment appears to be rallying around state Sen. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat who is running for Rep. Dean Phillips’s 3^rd District congressional seat.

On Wednesday, Rep. Angie Craig, D-2^nd District, became the first member of Congress to endorse Morrison.

“Kelly Morrison has dedicated her career to helping people, first as a doctor and then as one of the most effective legislators in Minnesota, fighting to pass bills lowering the cost of prescription drugs and protecting reproductive rights in our state,” Craig said in a statement. “If elected, she will be the only pro-choice OB-GYN in Congress. We need Kelly’s voice in Congress …”

Morrison has also been endorsed by former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, more than 20 state senators and representatives, and a series of mayors and other elected officials in the 3^rd District.

Phillips, who has represented the district since 2019, decided he would not run for re-election soon after he launched a now-aborted challenge to President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Slight growth for Minnesota

Minnesota’s population has grown over the last few years, but not by much, according to the latest report by the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday. 

The state’s population grew by about 31,000 people from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023, the Census Bureau determined. The growth was mostly a result of more births than deaths in the state and from immigration of foreign nationals.

And there was a clear trend of people migrating out of Hennepin and Ramsey counties — home to Minneapolis and St. Paul — during this time period, which was characterized by the Covid pandemic. In the seven-county Twin Cities metro region, five counties have gained population since 2020 while Hennepin and Ramsey counties have lost population.

The census data also showed that nearly 46,000 people left Minnesota in the one-year period from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023. Still, the state gained population because of the number of international migrants to the state that year — 34,624 — and the state’s birth rate. 

Your questions and comments

One reader took issue to a story that quoted Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, blaming President Biden for “double digit inflation,” citing a Statista chart. (The U.S. inflation rate as a whole never reached double digits — certain products spiked higher — and is a little more than 3% now.)

“A chart shows the reality. Inflation was a direct result of the global pandemic and affected every country. US policy under Biden brought it down,” the reader said.

Another reader questioned a story that cited a Hamline professor who said that if the Biden campaign had to defend Minnesota, it would have less money to spend on battleground states like Michigan or Wisconsin.

“The data point I will be watching is fundraising,” the reader said. “Will Trump/RNC have the funds to put MN in play? Sounds like RNC, like MN GOP, has few dollars on hand & Trump’s legal expenses are enormous. So, color me skeptical that Trump will make a play for MN.Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com.