Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota confronted Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah over his social media posts about the recent shootings in Minnesota that killed a state lawmaker and her husband.
According to MSNBC, the incident began when Lee posted controversial comments on social media about the shootings, suggesting that the suspect, who was identified by a close friend as a right-wing Trump voter, was a “Marxist.” Lee even pinned this tweet to the top of his social media feed for emphasis.
“I wanted him to know how much pain that caused me and the other people in my state,” Smith told reporters at the Capitol, explaining that she personally knew the victims. She emphasized that she needed Lee to hear directly from her about the impact of his actions.
Lee’s social media posts draw criticism from multiple senators
Minnesota’s other senator, Amy Klobuchar, also confronted Lee about his social media posts, which led to Lee removing the posts on Tuesday afternoon. When asked about this, Lee told reporters that it was important to Klobuchar that he take down the posts, noting that they were “good friends.”
Over 2,200 votes in one of our most viewed stories – 92% of you say Utah Sen. Mike Lee should apologize or explain social media posts many said made light of the assassinations of Minnesota state legislators. What do you think?
— KUTV2news (@KUTV2News) June 18, 2025
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Ed Shelleby, Smith’s deputy chief of staff, sent a strongly worded email to Lee’s office following Smith’s confrontation. The email criticized Lee for using his position as a U.S. Senator to “compound people’s grief” and cause additional pain during what was described as an “unspeakably horrific weekend.”
The controversy follows a pattern of similar responses from some Republican figures to politically motivated violence. This includes reactions to the attack on Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband, which occurred nearly three years ago in their Bay Area home.
When approached by an NBC News reporter on Capitol Hill on Monday for an explanation of his posts, Lee ignored questions about whether he stood by his online statements. The incident has sparked broader discussions about the appropriate response of elected officials to acts of political violence, particularly given that some senators were reportedly on the suspected killer’s target list.
