View this email as a web page

By Allison Kite

Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Good morning, Dishers! Hope you're all enjoying the legislative break as much as we are on the politics team. 

First up this morning, President Donald Trump went after Bruce Springsteen on social media after the Boss appeared at the anti-Trump No Kings rally in St. Paul last weekend and performed at Target Center on Tuesday. 

St. Paul's No Kings rally, the flagship event among rallies across the U.S., drew more than 100,000 people to the Minnesota Capitol. At the event, Springsteen performed "Streets of Minneapolis," a protest song he penned after federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Operation Metro Surge. 

“Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning. “MAGA should boycott his overpriced concerts, which suck.”

Springsteen also performed at Target Center on Tuesday for the first stop on his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour. 

“We are here in celebration and in defense of American ideals, our Constitution, democracy and our sacred American promise,” Springsteen said at the show, which kicked off with a familiar chorus: “War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” Read more.

Dems rejoice in Bondi's ousting. Most Minnesota Democrats celebrated the news of Attorney General Pam Bondi's firing Thursday by Trump, my colleague Sydney Kashiwagi reports.

"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out [Pam Bondi," Rep. Angie Craig said on X.

"Minnesota will never forget Pam Bondi’s interference in the investigations into the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents," Sen. Tina Smith said on X. "That will always be a stain on her record."

In announcing Bondi's exit, Trump said her deputy, Todd Blanche, would serve as acting attorney general in the interim. But he's reportedly considering nominating Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.

Weeks after another firing. Bondi's sudden ousting comes just weeks after Trump abruptly fired now former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who's since been replaced by former GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

Klobuchar will have a say in next AG. Trump's pick will face the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a member of the committee and will have a front-row seat into the next attorney general's confirmation process.

Last year, Klobuchar opposed Bondi's confirmation out of the Judiciary Committee and when her confirmation came before the full Senate for a vote. Smith also opposed Bondi's confirmation.

"The job of the Attorney General is to pursue justice without fear or favor, but Attorney General Bondi put the wishes of the President ahead of justice," Klobuchar said in a statement following the news of Bondi's ousting. "There is no respect for the rule of law under this Administration."

Minnesota's red "I Voted" sticker could soon have company. A bill at the Legislature would allow elections officials across Minnesota to hold competitions for new designs of the state's standard "I Voted" sticker, my colleague Nathaniel Minor reports. 

The bill, carried by DFL Sen. Bonnie Westlin, was the idea of St. Anthony Village high schooler Maitreya Reeder, who told the Senate Elections Committee recently that new sticker designs could help motivate young people to vote.

"Particularly in a time where politics may seem scary to our younger citizens, bringing a positive connotation to voting is absolutely crucial," she said.

One Republican on the committee worried designs could be politically charged. The bill, however, says designs cannot advocate for or against any party, candidate or issue.

The bill wouldn't preclude elections officials from sticking with the existing design either, which dates to the 1990s. The official who came up with that design, longtime Ramsey County and Secretary of State elections staffer Joe Mansky, told the Pioneer Press a decade ago he'd be happy if his successors changed things up.

Some Wisconsin communities have stickers with cheese and cows on them, Westlin told the committee. "I figure we can do better than that," she said. The bill was laid over and could be wrapped into a larger bill later in session.

Gov. Tim Walz has no public events scheduled today. 

Do you enjoy Hot Dish? Encourage your friends and family to sign up. You also can share it using the links below.