Overview

• Senator Mike Lee blamed Democrats for the fatal shooting of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in X posts that read “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way” alongside an image of suspect Vance Boelter.
• Ed Shelleby, deputy chief of staff to Sen. Tina Smith, sent a scathing email accusing Lee of exploiting the murders “to post some sick burns about Democrats.”
• Sen. Tina Smith confronted Lee in a Senate hallway on Monday to tell him how “painful” and “brutal” his posts were in the wake of the weekend’s violence.
• MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell called on all of Lee’s Senate staff to resign, saying they now “live in the disgrace” his remarks have created.
• Lee refused to answer reporters’ questions on Tuesday about his controversial posts, remaining silent when asked whether he regretted or stood by them.