New Mexico leaders respond to Trump radical changes

When Donald Trump was elected to his second term, it was a foregone conclusion that he would attempt to make radical changes to our federal government. But we didn’t know what he would do first or how it would affect us, nationally and personally.

It also was predictable that his proposed changes would encounter massive opposition from many sides, ranging from Democrats in Congress to state governments and numerous advocacy organizations. Many of these efforts, we could anticipate, would go through the courts, some with frustrating slowness. Meanwhile, millions of Americans’ lives would be thrown into instability.

Trump, as expected, was ready on Day One, and the opposition — including some from our leaders in New Mexico — was not more than a day or two behind. 

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez spearheaded one of many early lawsuits filed by Democratic state attorneys general acting in coordination — reportedly 70 lawsuits so far. The Torrez-led suit challenged the unlawful delegation of executive power to Elon Musk. It lost its first round, but another lawsuit, filed last week in California, has succeeded in getting many of the firings declared illegal. This week Torrez will be in Phoenix with colleagues, holding the first of a national series of townhalls to document and publicize the effect of Musk funding freezes. 

  U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján spoke out against a proposed layoff of hundreds of workers of the Indian Health Service, including professional medical staff, noting that these workers provide vital health care service to tribal members. The terminations were reversed almost immediately.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, New Mexico’s leading advocate for public lands, is speaking out on the personnel cuts in those areas. Cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies that serve public lands are especially alarming, because of the obvious threat of forest fires. One recent report says full-time firefighters have been retained but others who are also essential to the firefighting mission have not.

Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury has introduced the Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act, which would hold Musk accountable for illegal actions he takes. It is not likely to pass in the Republican-majority House. During the recent congressional recess, she gave several public appearances in Albuquerque, expressing fierce opposition to federal job cuts. She has asked federal employees who are fired to contact her office and share their stories. 

Still, forceful words by themselves won’t stop the changes.   

We don’t know which of Trump’s initiatives will stick and which will be reversed. We don’t know which lawsuits will be successful, where popular demand will make the difference, and which — if any — Republican members of Congress will start to push back openly when their districts are threatened.

And we don’t know what he’s going to do next.

In this state of confusion, Americans are living in limbo. Much of the next four years will be spent reacting to radical proposals by this president. For many of us, it is going to be terribly uncomfortable. It may affect us personally in ways we cannot yet foresee. 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stated a few days ago we’re probably going to need a special legislative session later this year. She mentioned Medicaid, which is a major concern with our inadequate health care system. But it’s not the only issue that New Mexico will have to address if we lose federal support.

Reliance on our federal government has been built into our everyday life in hundreds of ways, which we usually take for granted. Americans have trusted our government with matters from national security to the safety of baby food. We’ll be finding out what is at risk.Contact Merilee Dannemann through www.triplespacedagain.com.