New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Jan. 28 held a news conference to discuss efforts the state is taking to challenge President Trump’s efforts to freeze federal funding.
New Mexico’s Democratic congressional delegation, governor and attorney general today decried President Donald Trump’s efforts to freeze some federal funding, with U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich characterizing the day as “utter chaos,” as state agencies, nonprofit organizations and individuals attempted to determine the order’s impact.
The federal Office of Management and Budget on Monday night announced the federal government would temporarily stop payments on a variety of federal programs as of Tuesday evening, but a federal judge stayed the order shortly before it was supposed to take effect.
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on broad swath of federal payments
Numerous Democratic attorneys general Tuesday afternoon filed a lawsuit Monday against the federal government, including New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez, who described Trump’s order as unconstitutional and said it had led to a disruption of services for New Mexico residents.
“Today we have received reports of people who are trying to access various programs that support everything from housing grants for tribal communities to Medicaid disruptions and even an inability to access the funding portal for Head Start,” Torrez said. That being said, Torrez said his office is “still trying to understand the full scope of the order itself. The language that was used in the memorandum that was issued by the Office of Management and Budget was extraordinarily vague.”
NMDOJ also launched a portal Tuesday for programs impacted by the federal freeze to report the impact.
Michael Coleman, communications director for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the governor is “actively coordinating with the Attorney General’s office, state lawmakers, the New Mexico congressional delegation and officials in other states regarding President Trump’s executive orders and other actions in recent days. Our initial assessment indicates serious constitutional concerns that require immediate attention.
“The governor understands that these developments may cause uncertainty and anxiety. She wants New Mexicans to know that she is committed to advocating for them and protecting their interests. We are thoroughly reviewing these orders and their implications for our state. The Governor’s Office will provide a more detailed response and outline next steps in the very near future.”
The five Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation also held a news conference during which they responded to concerns about the impact to the state’s tribal communities, Medicaid recipients and Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire funding, among other recipients of federal funds.
According to Marina Piña, director of communications for the New Mexico Health Care Authority, the state’s Medicaid portal for provider claims submissions is fully functional. “We want to reassure New Mexicans that services such as Medicaid, SNAP and other critical programs remain operational and available to those in need,” Piña wrote to Source, noting that the agency recognized the OMB memo “created concern among the public and healthcare providers. As more information is disseminated, the Health Care Authority is closely monitoring developments and assessing the situation. OMB has clarified that programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, funding for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and similar initiatives will continue without interruption.”
That being said, Heinrich said today the delegation had heard early in the morning that the Medicaid portal that handles reimbursements was not responding. Noting that the delegations’ phones were “literally ringing off the hook” all day, Heinrich went on to describe the OMB memo as “Project 2025 in action,” in which the president unilaterally decides who receives funding.
“And what’s really terrible about this is there are just so many New Mexicans who were thrown into complete and utter chaos today, and their lives were completely upended so that somebody in the White House can try to take…the responsibilities that belong to Congress, and take them away and have all of that power concentrated in the White House. They are breaking things, and they are hurting people, and we got the brunt end of that the entire day today.”
Both Heinrich and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján described conflicting reports on funding connected to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, which U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who represents the 3rd congressional district, said should not be impacted in terms of direct funding to individuals.
“We drafted it that way so that it would not be subject to any other clawback provisions,” she said of the federal aid designated for fire victims. “None of that should apply. But once again, even though that is the law, we need that clarification from the agency.”
Luján said he had asked for clarification on Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon funding today, “and I also asked for the claims office to make a public statement to provide certainty to all of the families in the community who were hurt by these fires. And I’m concerned that there’s not been a public statement that I’m aware of yet.”
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who represents the 1st Congressional District, noted that “New Mexico is certainly one of the most federally funded and federal agency-heavy states in the United States,” including more than 20,000 federal employees and over 14,000 active duty military serving in New Mexico. “We also have one of the highest proportions of veterans in the United States,” she added. “The attacks that are happening on our federal agencies are going to have huge impacts on New Mexico, and we are absolutely going to fight back against them every step of the way.”
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