A federal judge has dismissed a case filed by former Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Scott Jensen, who alleged that state investigations of his claims regarding COVID-19 were “politically motivated.”

The court granted the medical board’s motion to dismiss Jensen’s federal lawsuit without prejudice on March 31, based on lack of standing. This is the second time the court granted the medical board’s motion to dismiss this case without prejudice, meaning Jensen can file the charges again.

Jensen, a Minnesota family practice physician who unsuccessfully ran for governor against Democrat Tim Walz in 2022, filed the federal lawsuit in June 2023, claiming the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and abused its power when investigating his claims regarding COVID-19.

His lawsuit claims his views, which contradicted those in mainstream media, were “both critical and complimentary” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s actions.

In March 2024, the court first dismissed the case, claiming Jensen failed to sufficiently allege a concrete injury.

The first order to dismiss said Jensen’s claims that he was politically targeted and that the anonymous complaints had an “ongoing chilling and suppressing effect” did not establish standing for his argument. Jensen also claimed the board treated physicians with different views “more favorably,” but according to the court order, Jensen did not establish “standing for his viewpoint discrimination and equal protection claims.”

Jensen filed an amended complaint less than three weeks later; however, the court claimed this year that Jensen again failed to allege a concrete injury.

“Emotional distress alone is not a cognizable injury in fact that creates standing,” the court order dismissing the lawsuit said.

In a release to the Upper Midwest Law Center, Jensen said his lawsuit has never been about one person.

“It’s about all of us and our right to free speech,” he said in the release. “If it can happen to me, why couldn’t it happen to anyone?”

The UMLC responded to the court’s dismissal of Jensen’s lawsuit, noting that the center disagrees.

“Dr. Jensen will appeal, and he will win,” UMLC Senior Counsel James Dickey said in a release.

Dickey noted that Jensen had never been investigated by the medical board in his 40 years of medical practice and that Jensen was selected to be the 2016 Minnesota Family Practice Doctor of the Year.

“Suddenly, because he was willing to speak out and subsequently chose to run for governor, he was investigated by his licensing board — appointed by his opponent — five times,” Dickey said. “Anyone in his shoes would think twice about talking after that experience. He was obviously harmed by these frivolous speech investigations. The First Amendment stands in the way of that kind of weaponized government censorship.”

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By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself in a familiar jam on Tuesday: Conservative Republican holdouts are stalling action on President Donald Trump’s “big” bill of tax breaks and spending reductions, refusing to accept a Senate GOP budget framework approved over the weekend because it doesn’t cut enough.

Trump summoned House Republicans to the White House for a midday meeting as the beleaguered speaker pulls out all the stops to nudge the process forward before lawmakers leave Thursday for a two-week spring recess.

With the financial markets roiling over Trump’s tariffs and the economy teetering as worries of a recession flare, the Republican speaker insisted there is no time to waste.

“We’ve got to get this done,” Johnson said after a spirited morning meeting of House Republicans.

The standoff between the House and the Senate over what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” is exposing the limits of the GOP’s long campaign to cut federal spending, especially at a time of economic unrest. Trump’s trade wars, the mass layoffs of thousands of federal workers and Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency slashing through government, are all upending the debate.

Republicans, in control of the White House and Congress, are trying to muscle Trump’s signature domestic policy bill closer to passage, ensuring some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks approved during his first term don’t expire at year’s end. But House Republicans are demanding as much as $2 trillion in budget cuts over the decade, to help offset the costs of the tax breaks, while Senate Republicans, who stayed up late to pass their package early Saturday morning, are hesitant to go that far.

Facing unified opposition to the package from Democrats, who see the GOP package as a tax giveaway to the wealthy paid for by reductions in Medicaid, food stamps and other vital government services, Republicans are struggling to resolve their differences and craft a final product.

“I’m tired of the fake math in the swamp,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus.

“They are fine saying that there are unlimited tax cuts, but they are unwilling to say they will do spending cuts,” Roy said. “The Senate has produced a budget that is phony math, and I’m not going to support it.”

The uproar has thrown the week’s schedule into uncertainty, with a planned Wednesday vote potentially pushing to Thursday, or even later.

Trump weighed in late Monday on social media, urging swift action.

“There is no better time than now to get this Deal DONE!” the president posted on social media. “Everyone is going to be happy with the result. Passage will make, even the subject of World Trade, far easier and better for the U.S.A. THE HOUSE MUST PASS THIS BUDGET RESOLUTION, AND QUICKLY — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

But Trump’s demands left the House conservatives unmoved.

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“The rest of America has to do math and balance their budget. I think we ought to do math here in Washington D.C.,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. “It doesn’t take a calculus wiz to know that doesn’t add up.”

While Republican senators have agreed to consider as much as $2 trillion in cuts, their counterparts in the House are deeply skeptical, if not distrustful, that the Senate GOP will accomplish anywhere near that level of reductions. The Senate bill sets a much lower floor, just $4 billion in cuts, though Senate GOP leaders insist that number will rise.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he does not believe the Senate has the political will to stomach larger cuts and is unconvinced the GOP senators will reach anywhere near the level the House has set.

“The trustworthiness of the Senate is suspect,” Norman said. “It’s like you charge for your house $100,000, And I come back with $1,000. How do you bridge that gulf?”

In fact, the Senate GOP signaled the tough road ahead for the House’s steep spending reductions during their lengthy overnight session.

Several Republicans including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri voted with Democrats in favor of amendments to preserve the Medicaid health care program from cuts. None of the amendments was accepted, but one that specifically targeted the $800 billion in reductions from the House framework won GOP support.

During a morning meeting of House Republicans a number of lawmakers spoke out — some saying they should simply accept the Senate resolution for now and keep working out the details toward the final package. Others were refusing to go forward without assurances that senators were committed to the same level of reductions.

Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

MN Black Authors Expo will be at the George Latimer public library, 90 W. Fourth St., St. Paul, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 12, with the theme “From the Page to the Stage: Bringing Black Books to Life!”

This free event includes a meet-and-greet with more than 20 writers and spoken-word artists; activities in the Kids’ Corner; a boot camp for established and emerging writers; a teen workshop; and a noon presentation featuring T. Mychael Rambo, author, vocalist, arts educator, artist and affiliate professor in the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Theatre Arts and Dance program.

This expo was started eight years ago by authors DeVonna Pittman and Jasmine Boudou to empower Black writers in all genres. Since then, it has become one of the largest gatherings of Black authors and book lovers in the Twin Cities.

For information go to mnblackauthorsexpo.com.

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By MEG KINNARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s tariffs roil global markets, some of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican’s campaign are voicing doubts.

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are adding their voices to a number of congressional Republicans who have weighed in against the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at some of what they’ve said:

Dave Portnoy

“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy said on his “Davey Day Trader” financial livestream, just before markets opened this week, saying there’s “no political agenda” to his commentary, other than to make money.

After last week’s market plunge, Portnoy said he had lost $7 million “in stocks and crypto,” a figure he estimated on Monday was likely closer to $20 million, or up to 15% of his net worth.

But, Portnoy has said, he plans to stick with Trump, whom he has called “a smart guy.”

“I think they’re smarter than me when it comes to these tariffs. I also think he’s playing a high-stakes game here,” Portnoy said last week on his livestream. “I’m gonna roll with him for a couple days, a couple weeks, see how this pans out.”

Founded by Portnoy in 2003 as a free sports and gambling newspaper, Barstool has grown into a digital platform covering sports, lifestyle, and entertainment, with hundreds of millions of followers. Portnoy has been a loyal Trump supporter since first endorsing him in 2016, interviewing the president at the White House in 2020.

Joe Rogan

Rogan, one of the nation’s most influential podcasters who endorsed Trump on the eve of last year’s election, said in March that Trump’s feud with Canada was “stupid” and bemoaned the fact that Canadians “booed us over tariffs” during professional sporting events featuring teams from both countries.

Rogan has recently broken with Trump in other areas, including over wide-ranging deportations, referring to a recent operation to detain immigrants as “horrific.”

Just weeks before Election Day, Rogan taped a nearly three-hour podcast interview with Trump, an opportunity for the Republican nominee to highlight the hypermasculine tone that defined much of his 2024 White House bid.

Bill Ackman

The pro-Trump hedge fund manager warned Sunday on X that “we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter” unless Trump took a more deliberate approach, likening the full tariff activation “economic nuclear war.”

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In another post later Sunday, Ackman assailed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” The next day, Ackman apologized for his criticism claiming that Lutnick — previously the head of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald — could benefit from the tariffs because of its bond investments.

But the hedge fund manager also reiterated his concerns about Trump’s tariffs.

“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs,” he wrote on X.

Elon Musk

Even the billionaire top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government is expressing skepticism about tariffs, which he has said would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric automaker.

“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video conference with Italian politicians.

On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation.

Musk fired back on Tuesday, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”