Heath Haussamen
You deserve a federal government that’s functional — one that provides benefits to those who are supposed to receive them like veterans, disabled people, farmers and children.
New Mexico’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, is on the frontlines in the fight against the fascist coup that is designed to destabilize your lives and reshape your government.
The Trump administration means to break our government with funding freezes, mass layoffs, and the unauthorized shuttering of entire agencies. The aim is to let the oligarchs grab greater control and more wealth.
Don’t believe me? Elon Musk said it himself days before Donald Trump was elected, agreeing with another’s tweet that said we would all face severe economic pain if Trump won — which he agreed was necessary to change things.
Trump won. The economic pain has arrived. But you know who isn’t feeling it? Musk. Zuckerberg. Bezos. The oligarchs. This is a big scam to take even more from the rest of us.
Fortunately, our state AG is fighting back.
Suing and trolling the president
Torrez on Thursday led a coalition of 14 state attorneys general to sue the Trump administration, arguing that the power Trump has delegated to Musk is unconstitutional.
The attorneys general from New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan and 11 other states argue that Musk’s appointment requires Senate confirmation and congressional oversight under the Appointments Clause in the U.S. Constitution.
“Musk’s seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen, or click of a mouse, is unprecedented,” the lawsuit states. “The sweeping authority now vested in a single unelected and unconfirmed individual is antithetical to the nation’s entire constitutional structure.”
I don’t know if Torrez’s lawsuit will be successful. ABC News notes that its arguments are made “in often dramatic terms.” In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Torrez trolled Trump, suggesting the president is acting like a dictator because he doesn’t have what it takes to get an agenda through Congress.
“Empowering an unelected billionaire to access Americans’ private data, slash funding for federal student aid, stop payments to American farmers and dismantle protections for working families is not a sign of President Trump’s strength, but his weakness,” the AG said.
Keep going, Mr. Attorney General. This is exactly what New Mexicans need from you in this moment.
Gumming up the works
The Trump administration intends to break things so rapidly that opponents won’t be able to stop it. Some damage will be irreversible, as we can already see in the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
We need our elected leaders at the local and state levels who support democracy to gum up the works. Until Democrats regain control of some part of the federal government that will allow them to check the president’s power — the best hope is winning control of the U.S. House next year — we must slow the destruction of systems and laws that protect our U.S. Constitution, and ultimately our people.
This is the fourth lawsuit Torrez has joined against the Trump administration, and the first he’s led. The other lawsuits challenge Trump’s legally doomed executive order ending birthright citizenship, the federal government’s massive funding freeze, and the defunding of medical and public health research.
Torrez’s agency has also issued thoughtful legal guidance for government agencies and citizens in New Mexico on how to respond to the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
“Our priority is to protect New Mexico’s families, especially children, from policies that create fear and destabilize communities,” Torrez says in a statement on the DOJ’s website. “We are committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring public safety, but we must also safeguard the ability of families and children to access education, healthcare, and justice without fear of persecution.”
Fully fund the NMDOJ
New Mexico’s attorney general is demonstrating clarity of purpose and determination. This is the kind of courage we need in this moment from all democracy-supporting elected officials.
I hope the Legislature shows the same focus on protecting New Mexicans and grants the funding increase Torrez’s agency has requested in the current session.
The NMDOJ asked to be allowed to keep $6 million out of more than $402 million it has recovered on behalf of New Mexicans over the past three fiscal years.
The Legislature’s budget recommendation had the DOJ keeping a smaller portion of that money. The governor’s recommendation had DOJ keeping none.
I asked Lauren Rodriguez, the chief of staff at DOJ, if Torrez plans additional lawsuits against the Trump administration.
“I can’t say what’s to come next,” she said. “But I will tell you that we are invested in safeguarding our democracy.”
Does the agency need more money to do it? Yes, “we need further resources,” Rodriguez said.
Let’s make sure Torrez and his agency have the funding they need. Democracy depends on it.
Disclosure: Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, who is my spouse, sits on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.