Heath Haussamen
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján set aside decorum and congeniality during his address to the N.M. Legislature on Monday when he called out a Republican state representative by name.
Luján, a Democrat, was arguing that policymakers in New Mexico have always worked across party lines to protect New Mexicans. After expressing concern about the Trump administration’s illegal funding freezes, Luján spoke directly to state Rep. Martin Zamora, a Republican from Clovis.
“Martin, when we were out there, we had that roundtable on the farm bill. Your advocacy was for the people at home,” Luján said. “Even though we had some disagreements, it was about making a difference for the people at home and standing strong.”
Lujan then raised his voice: “When there have been base closures threatened in the State of New Mexico, do we sit idly by and say let it happen? No!” He banged his fist on the podium, his eyes wide.
“We come together strong — Democrats, Republicans, leaders from industry, from educational institutions, from every corner of the state, and we stop it from happening,” the senator said.
He was nearly shouting when he asked his next question: “So why is it so quiet when people from across New Mexico are being fired every day from these federal agencies that help our farmers and our ranchers, that are jeopardizing infrastructure, that are taking away money from farmers and from acequias?”
Luján spoke quickly and forcefully. His plea to Republicans jolted people to attention during what in many years would have been a routine speech.
“We’ve got to speak up,” Luján said. “This is New Mexico, and as New Mexicans we stopped the closure of those bases. We can hold back what’s happening to the closure of these programs!”
Luján’s comments earned a standing ovation from Democrats. Most Republicans had left the chamber before Luján’s challenge. Zamora sat still while his Democratic colleagues cheered.
‘Our democracy is at stake’
Democracy appeared vibrant at New Mexico’s state capitol on Monday. There were the speeches to state lawmakers from Luján and New Mexico’s other U.S. senator, Martin Heinrich, and a fiery address from U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández.
In addition, more than 500 people gathered outside the Roundhouse, with the crowd spilling onto nearby streets, to protest the Trump administration’s actions. They carried signs with messages like “Stop the Coup,” “Ban billionaires,” and “Impeach Elon.”
“I truly feel like our democracy is at stake,” Santa Fe resident Missy Jones was quoted by The Santa Fe New Mexican as saying.
I wandered through the crowd, which was so large that it took awhile to maneuver. I snapped photos of seas of people holding up homemade signs. Motorists expressed support for the protesters by honking as they passed. Emotion was palpable in the air — anger and outrage, anxiety and fear, even hope.
Back inside the building, Heinrich called for bipartisanship as he pleaded with state officials to do more to address crime and other issues.
“We can uphold this democracy, commit to the Republic set out in our Constitution, and comply with our oaths of service to put ‘We the People’ first,” he said.
Luján and Leger Fernández were more pointed in their remarks.
“In New Mexico we understand that diversity is not to be purged as Trump is doing,” Leger Fernández said. Equity, she said, “is something we should celebrate. We in New Mexico will always fight discrimination.”
State Rep. Jack Chatfield, a Republican from Mosquero, left the chamber. He wasn’t the first Republican to walk out during the Democrats’ addresses.
‘At the door of a constitutional crisis’
Later in her speech, Leger Fernández pleaded for Republicans to join Democrats in doing what is right for New Mexicans. Her voice was forceful and so were her rapid, sharp hand gestures as she commanded the attention of the chamber.
“We are at the door of a constitutional crisis when profiteering billionaires who were not elected and do not believe in justice and fairness have taken over our federal government,” Leger Fernández said.
She paused and shook her head. Democrats gave her a standing ovation. State Rep. Randall Pettigrew, a Republican from Lovington, spun around in his chair in a complete circle.
Only a handful of Republicans were left in the chamber at that point.
Leger Fernández continued.
“To give tax breaks to the wealthiest corporations and individuals, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are now seeking to cut the programs that every one of our communities and families rely on,” she said.
Leger Fernández challenged Republicans, saying some had committed to working with her to save the federal Head Start program, and she needed them to also commit to saving funding for schools and rural health clinics.
“I need us all to say we value our rural communities more than fealty to any idea,” she said. “It’s our communities that we have been sent here to serve.”
Dedication to all New Mexicans
Before the House and Senate met in joint session to hear from the members of the federal delegation, and while the protest was beginning to form outside the Roundhouse, I watched members of the N.M. Senate honor the work of the late state Sen. John Arthur Smith.
Smith, a Democrat from Deming, died in October at 83. He had served 32 years in the Legislature before losing the Democratic primary in 2020. He remains one of the most powerful lawmakers in the state’s history.
Smith rose to prominence during the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson. He was deeply upset about the Legislature’s inability to stop Richardson from ramming through expensive projects and determined to build a stronger legislative branch. He was a deep believer in checks and balances.
I remember the day Smith told me he was going to do everything in his power to ensure no governor could bully the Legislature again.
Smith did just that, helping build the Legislative Finance Committee into an agency that empowers lawmakers to more effectively do their jobs today. I didn’t agree with some things Smith did, but his work to build the LFC is one of the most consequential actions to improve state government in recent decades.
State senators remembered Smith’s dedication to all New Mexicans on Monday.
“There was just an incredible respect for John that I rarely see any more in this chamber,” said Sen. Joseph Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat.
“He was steadfast, true to what he would say,” said Sen. Linda López, a Democrat from Albuquerque. “All you have here in this chamber, this institution, is your word, and that’s one thing he and I used to talk about constantly.”
‘It’s about right and wrong’
I thought about López’s words a couple of hours later when Luján challenged Zamora to keep his commitment to New Mexicans. And again later in Luján’s speech, when he recalled words spoken by his father, the late Speaker of the N.M. House Ben Luján: “When it comes to New Mexico, we stand up for New Mexico. We put differences aside. It’s not about left, not about right. It’s about right and wrong.”
Leger Fernández’s speech earned one concession from Republicans. She spoke about Thomas Begay, a Navajo code talker who was present during Monday’s addresses by the members of the federal delegation.
After World War II Begay worked for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for 40 years. Leger Fernández accused the Trump administration of demonizing folks like Begay and the 30 percent of federal workers who are veterans.
“We must honor and respect them and not demonize them,” Leger Fernández said. “We must thank them for their service, then and now.”
That earned a standing ovation from everyone in the chamber, including the handful of Republicans, like Zamora and Pettigrew, who hadn’t walked out.
‘At least that energy is there’
Will any Republicans in the N.M. Legislature be moved to action? Time will tell. They certainly should honor Sen. Smith’s memory by opposing the harm the Trump administration is inflicting on the people of our state.
A wide range of New Mexicans — from ordinary citizens to our state’s highest elected officials — descended on the Roundhouse on Monday to pressure Republicans to side with the folks they were elected to represent, not the oligarchy.
“I can stay at home and [expletive] about it, but at least I protest,” Albuquerque resident Paul Apodaca, who attended Monday’s protest outside the Roundhouse, was quoted by The New Mexican as saying.
Apodaca asked, “Is anything going to come out of it? I don’t know. But at least that energy is there.”
