Julie Frye-Mueller (born April 20, 1963) is an American politician from South Dakota. A member of the Republican Party, she has been a member of the South Dakota Senate, serving since 2021. She was censured by the Senate in 2023 for harassment of a legislative staffer; she denied harassment.
Mueller was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021.
Political career State House A Republican, Frye-Mueller was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives before being elected to the state Senate.Annie Todd, Lawmakers suspend Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller pending investigation of incident with staff member, Argus Leader (January 26, 2023).
State Senate Frye-Mueller was elected to the state Senate as a Republican in 2020, defeating Libertarian challenger Gideon Oakes (no Democrat ran in the race).Frye-Mueller is Senate winner, Custer County Chronicle (November 2020).Nathan Thompson, UPDATE: Republicans sweep local House, Senate races, Rapid City Journal (November 3, 2020). She represents Senate District 30, which covers the southern Black Hills region,Lee Strubinger, Goodwin to request recount in District 30 Senate race, SDPB Radio (June 9, 2022). specifically all of Custer and Fall River counties and a rural portion of Pennington County. She replaced the previous state Senator for the district, Lance Russell, who withdrew his name from the ballot. She took office in 2021.Senator Julie Frye-Mueller - 2021, South Dakota State Senate.
In the state Senate, Frye-Mueller aligned herself with a group of far-right Republicans. The group has occasionally clashed with the chamber's Republican leadership.Amancai Biraben, South Dakota state senator stripped of committee assignments, Associated Press (January 25, 2023). In 2020, Frye-Mueller sponsored legislation to allow county courthouse employees to carry guns in courthouses.Senate bill would allow courthouse employee to carry guns, Associated Press (February 4, 2020).
In June 2022, Frye-Mueller won the Republican primary by fewer than 40 votes, defeating State Representative Tim Goodwin,Laura Heckmann, District 30 recount complete, Frye-Mueller retains victory (June 28, 2022). a challenger who was supported by Lee Schoenbeck, the president pro tempore of the Senate. Schoenbeck also opposed Frye-Mueller's political ally and seatmate, Tom Pischke of Dell Rapids.Tom Lawrence, South Dakota Senator Benched in 'Suckling' Advice Scandal, Daily Beast (January 30, 2023). Frye-Mueller won the general election unopposed, as no Democrat ran.
Frye-Mueller supports abolishing childhood vaccination requirements.Lee Strubinger, How One Current, One Former Lawmaker Are Reshaping The State Legislature, South Dakota Public Broadcasting (June 15, 2020). In January 2023, Frye-Mueller introduced a bill to bar schools from requiring vaccines except for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
In the 2023 legislative session, her second term in the Senate, Frye-Mueller sponsored a resolution in support of the January 6 attackers. That resolution was defeated in a unanimous committee vote.Nathan Thompson, Julie Frye-Mueller stripped of Senate voting rights, Rapid City Journal (January 27, 2023). She was initially a member of the local government committee and health and human services committee. She was the lead Senate sponsor of a bill to create a severance tax for lithium mining operations in the Black Hills.Lee Strubinger, House approves lithium tax, SDPB Radio (January 27, 2023).
2023 censure On January 6, 2023, the Senate voted to form a Select Committee on Discipline and Expulsion to investigate Frye-Mueller's conduct, and to suspend her as a member of the Senate during the investigation.Tom Hanson & Eric Mayer, Senate releases details on Frye-Mueller investigation, KELO (January 27, 2023). The suspension was prompted by an incident two days earlier in which Frye-Mueller allegedly accosted a Legislative Research Council staffer inside the state Capitol. According to the LRC staffer's account of the exchange, after Frye-Mueller and her husband entered the LRC office,Karen Sherman & Bob Mercer, Senate panel: Censure, but don't expel, Frye-Mueller, KELO-TV (January 31, 2023). Frye-Mueller aggressively confronted the LRC staffer, pointing her finger and criticizing the staffer for having her baby son vaccinated; said that vaccines made children "guinea pigs for Big Pharma"; told the staffer was she was "taking away God's gift of immunity from your son"; and falsely claimed that vaccines would cause the boy to get autism or Down syndrome, or die. In a later part of the exchange, Frye-Mueller criticized the staffer for formula-feeding her son and offered unsolicited advice on breastfeeding.
Senate leadership said that Frye-Mueller's behavior was "inappropriate" and "unprofessional" and constituted workplace harassment "related to private maternal matters." The motion to create the special committee passed on a 27–6–2 vote, and the motion to suspend Frye-Mueller passed on a 27–7 vote. Republican Senator Michael Rohl, who sponsored the motion to suspend Frye-Mueller from legislative duties, described the measure as necessary to maintain a safe working environment.Amancai Biraben & Stephen Groves, S. Dakota Senate suspends lawmaker after vaccine exchange, Associated Press (January 26, 2023). The suspension stripped Frye-Mueller of all legislative power, removing her right to vote on legislation and her two committee assignments. Frye-Mueller mostly denied the allegations,Amancai Biraben, & Stephen Groves, South Dakota Senate censures, reinstates suspended lawmaker, Associated Press (January 1, 2023). and said that she was being persecuted from "advancing freedom."Lee Strubinger, South Dakota Senate suspends lawmaker, SDPB Radio (January 26, 2023).
After her suspension, Frye-Mueller sued legislative leadership, in federal district court in Pierre, seeking a court order to reinstate her voting rights; she named Schoenbeck as the defendant in the lawsuit.Lee Strubinger, Frye-Mueller files lawsuit challenging Senate suspension, SDPB Radio (January 30, 2023). In the suit, Frye-Mueller's counsel is Steve Haugaard, a former speaker of the state House who unsuccessfully challenged Governor Kristi Noem in the June 2022 primary. A federal judge denied Frye-Mueller's request for a temporary restraining order to block the legislative disciplinary process.Shelly Conlon & Annie Todd, Federal judge denies Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller's efforts to stop disciplinary proceedings, Sioux Falls Argus Leader (January 31, 2023).
Nine senators (seven Republicans and two Democrats) were appointed to the Select Committee on Discipline and Expulsion.Austin Goss, Senate leadership picks nine for "Committee on Discipline and Expulsion", KOTA-TV (January 27, 2023). On January 31, 2023, after a hearing in which both Frye-MuellerDan Santella, Senators share what motivated their Frye-Mueller votes, KELO-TV (February 2, 2023). and the LRC staffer testified, the select committee determined that Frye-Mueller engaged in harassment,Dan Santella & Karen Sherman, Frye-Mueller reinstated, censured by Senate, KELO-TV (February 1, 2023). and recommended, by voice vote, that Frye-Mueller be censured by the Senate, and limited her interactions with LRC staffers. The next day, the Senate censured Frye-Mueller, and lifted her suspension, on a 33–1 vote; the sole state senator to vote "no" was Tom Pischke. After she was censured, Frye-Mueller dropped her lawsuit.Hannah Olsen, Senator drops federal lawsuit regarding suspension, KELO-TV (February 2, 2023).
Electoral history 2016 Republican primary election - State Representative District 30 - June 7, 20162016 Primary Election - South Dakota Official State Canvass Julie Frye-Mueller (R) - 1,460 Tim R. Goodwin (R) - 1,508 Richard Mounce (R) - 1,445 Marilyn J. Oakes (R) - 1,207 Travis Lasseter (R) - 1,230 2016 general election - State Representative District 30 - November 8, 20162016 General Election - South Dakota Official State Canvass Julie Frye-Mueller (R) - 8,062 Tim R. Goodwin (R) - 8,234 Kristine Ina Winter (D) - 2,915 Sandy Arseneault (D) - 3,397 2018 general election - State Representative District 30 -November 6, 2018 Timothy Ray Goodwin (R) - 7,433 Julie Frye-Mueller (R) - 7,166 Karen McGregor (D) - 3,152 Whitney Raver (D) - 2,684 2020 2022
References
External links Official state Senate profile (2021) Official state House profile (2018)