election in which Senate Republicans won a majority for the first time since party designation, Fischbach's colleagues elected her the first female president of the Minnesota Senate, a post she held until Republicans lost their majority in 2013. After Republicans regained a majority following the 2016 election, Fischbach was again elected Senate president on January 3, 2017. Lieutenant governor of Minnesota Succession On December 13, 2017, Governor Mark Dayton appointed his lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, to the U.S. Senate seat of Al Franken, who resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct. Smith resigned to accept the appointment on January 2, 2018. Per Article V of the Minnesota Constitution, as president of the State Senate, Fischbach automatically ascended as lieutenant governor. Constitutional dispute Fischbach acknowledged that she was now lieutenant governor, but maintained she would retain her Senate seat, calling herself "acting lieutenant governor." The constitutionality of holding two offices at once was disputed. Fischbach noted a memo from the Senate's nonpartisan counsel, which cited an 1898 Minnesota Supreme Court decision as legal precedent for her to hold both offices. She also said the lieutenant governor's duties are largely ceremonial and she would have no difficulty holding both offices. She declined the lieutenant governor's salary, opting to receive only the pay of a state senator. An advisory opinion from state attorney general Lori Swanson disputed the legality of Fischbach's holding both offices at once, citing a 1972 constitutional amendment and other historical precedents. The potential outcomes were seen as having potentially significant ramifications on Minnesota politics, as Republicans held only a two-vote majority in the state Senate. In December 2017, to avoid a potential tie should Fischbach resign her Senate seat, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House Speaker Kurt Daudt sent Dayton a letter requesting a special legislative session to temporarily elect a Democratic president of the Senate. Dayton and legislative Democrats immediately rejected the idea, with Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk indicating he would file a lawsuit to attempt to force Fischbach out of the Senate should she attempt to serve in both offices, saying the senate's "balance of power [...] will be up for grabs." In January 2018, a constituent and local DFL activist filed suit against Fischbach, asking a Ramsey County District Court judge to remove her from the state Senate. In February 2018, a judge dismissed the suit, ruling it had been prematurely filed. On May 25,