New Mexico’s senior senator is leading national legislation to halt federal workforce cuts that threaten thousands of jobs at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, which pump nearly $9 billion into the state’s economy annually and employ about 30,000 New Mexicans.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday with fellow Democrats to impose an immediate moratorium on Reductions in Force (RIFs) at the Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service, and Department of the Interior — three agencies with massive New Mexico footprints.
The move comes as the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have already eliminated significant portions of the federal workforce through forced resignations, early retirements, and a program paying employees not to work.
“These agencies provide critical services that protect American public health and safety, conserve our natural resources, and advance America’s scientific leadership on the world stage,” Heinrich said in a press release. “Firing our scientists, engineers and land management professionals does not save us money—it makes our government less efficient, costs taxpayers more in the long run, and weakens our nation’s security and competitiveness.”
Heinrich emphasized the laboratories’ economic importance during recent Senate hearings, noting their “combined economic impact on the state reached nearly $9 billion” in 2023.
However, Energy Secretary Chris Wright assured New Mexicans in February that federal layoffs would have “likely zero impact” on the national laboratories, though he acknowledged broader Department of Energy cuts were underway.
The agencies covered by Heinrich’s legislation have already experienced substantial job losses, according to multiple reports and federal officials.
The U.S. Forest Service dismissed about 3,400 employees, approximately 10 percent of its workforce. In New Mexico, reports indicate that around 30% of the Santa Fe National Forest’s workforce was terminated, with Carson National Forest also seeing major cuts.
The Department of the Interior fired about 2,300 probationary employees, including 1,000 from the National Park Service and 800 from the Bureau of Land Management. Heinrich reports that “as much as 20% of the National Park Service workforce at Carlsbad Caverns has been axed,” with cuts also affecting White Sands National Park, El Malpais National Monument, Bandelier, Valles Caldera and Gila Cliff Dwellings.
The Department of Government Efficiency was created by Trump executive order on January 20, 2025, initially led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Despite its name, DOGE is not an official federal agency requiring congressional approval, but operates as an advisory organization tasked with eliminating “waste, fraud and abuse.”
Musk left his DOGE role in May 2025, with Amy Gleason now serving as acting administrator of what the administration calls a temporary organization set to terminate July 4, 2026.
The workforce reductions have occurred through several mechanisms:
Reductions in Force (RIFs): Formal federal layoff procedures governed by Title 5 regulations for situations involving reorganization, lack of work, or budget shortages.
Deferred Resignation Program (DRP): A voluntary program allowing employees to resign while continuing to receive pay through administrative leave, typically until September 30.
At least 75,000 federal employees have taken deferred resignation packages, while thousands of probationary employees — those with less than one year of service — have been terminated.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have defended the workforce reductions. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called a July 2025 Supreme Court ruling allowing RIFs to proceed “another definitive victory for the President,” criticizing “leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving government efficiency.”
The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to allow mass RIFs to proceed, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, calling the administration’s actions “legally dubious.”
Heinrich expressed particular concern about the timing of cuts to wildland firefighters ahead of fire season. “Lord knows we’re going to have a hell of a fire season this year,” Heinrich told The Santa Fe New Mexican. “That’s just insane. Why anyone would think that’s appropriate is shocking to me.”
The Forest Service’s Southwestern Region, headquartered in Albuquerque, oversees eleven national forests across New Mexico and Arizona. The agency manages critical wildfire prevention and response across millions of acres of state public lands.
The legislation faces an uphill battle in a Republican-controlled Congress that has generally supported Trump’s workforce reduction efforts. However, Heinrich and his Democratic colleagues argue the cuts threaten essential services that protect public safety and economic competitiveness.
The bills would need to pass both chambers of Congress and survive a likely presidential veto to become law, making them largely symbolic unless Republicans break ranks to support federal workforce protections.