By Lauren Lifke Nearly 40 Senate Democrats, including Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), signed a letter last week calling out the Trump administration’s targeting of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in its move to increase deportation. The DACA program, implemented more than a decade ago, allows for some immigrants who […]
Category: Beats
Posted inNM State Gov.
New Mexico to make history as first state to offer universal child care
New Mexico will become the first state in the nation to guarantee no-cost child care for all families regardless of income, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Monday. The universal child care program takes effect Nov. 1, removing all income eligibility requirements from the state’s child care assistance program and waiving family copayments, according to the […]
Posted inNM Legislature
GOP blasts governor’s special session priorities
Republicans are unimpressed with the priorities that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-NM, laid out Thursday for an upcoming special legislative session, arguing that it should focus more on addressing crime and medical malpractice reform rather than looming federal budget cuts. Lujan Grisham on Thursday invoked her authority under Article IV of the New Mexico Constitution […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov, New Mexico
Senate Democrats file resolution calling for Kennedy’s resignation from HHS
Twenty-three Senate Democrats filed a resolution of disapproval Thursday calling for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, citing concerns about his stance on vaccines and scientific credibility. The resolution, led by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., states that the Senate and American people have “zero confidence” in Kennedy’s ability to serve […]
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Video: ‘Gibberish’ or ‘my New Mexico accent?’ Exchange gets heated between Luján and RFK Jr.
In a rare bi-partisan challenge to the Trump administration’s people and policy, voices were raised and tensions flared in a three-hour U.S. Senate hearing Thursday featuring U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In addition to being challenged by Republican Sens. John Barrasso and Bill Cassidy, both physicians, over the recent firing […]
Posted inNew Mexico, NM Legislature
Governor calls special session to address federal budget cuts
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday she will convene a special legislative session beginning Oct. 1 to address what she described as severe federal budget cuts that threaten essential services across New Mexico. The Democratic governor said the session aims to protect state programs from reductions stemming from federal legislation signed by President Donald Trump […]
Posted inPolitics & Elections
New Mexico Republicans eyeing governor’s office, but slowly
Three Democrats have already launched their campaigns for governor, but most of the Republicans whose names are in contention are still weighing their options. “I’m seriously looking at it,” state Rep. Mark Murphy, a Republican from Roswell, said Thursday in an interview with New Mexico Political Report. He added that he is talking with family, […]
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
What happened to Albuquerque’s broken shelter bed tracker?
Last fall, the City of Albuquerque launched its Shelter Connect Dashboard to help first responders see which shelters had open beds. But by this summer, the public tracker was showing badly outdated numbers with Good Shepherd stuck on November 2023 and S.A.F.E. House on October 2024. The stale data raised doubts about whether the tool […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov, New Mexico
Senate Democrats reintroduce comprehensive child care bill amid criticism of Trump policies
A group of Senate Democrats led by New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján reintroduced legislation last week aimed at making child care more affordable and accessible, while criticizing President Donald Trump’s approach to early childhood education funding. The Child Care for Working Families Act would cap child care costs at no more […]
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New Mexico DOJ challenge to Trump funding freezes helps New Mexico AmeriCorps recover $2 million for local programs
New Mexico’s AmeriCorps programs will see funding restored after the Trump administration declined to pursue a funding freeze challenged by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and other attorneys general. 2 million for AmeriCorps, initially withheld by the Trump administration, after th The New Mexico Department of Justice announced Friday that $2 million initially withheld […]