Latest news with #D-N.M.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
House Democrat: It'll take ‘many years' to ‘rebuild' from Musk ‘destruction'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said that it will take 'many years' for the federal government agencies to 'rebuild' from the 'destruction' by tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel. Stansbury, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said during a Thursday night appearance on MSNBC's 'The Last Word' that investigations into DOGE are 'ongoing' because many court cases are in play against the advisory panel, whose work has resulted in the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers led to effectively shutting down entire agencies. 'I mean, these actual investigations are ongoing because there's so many court cases against what's going on. You know, it was just announced today that a judge was allowing a court case that's actually led by the Attorney General of New Mexico to continue because of the lawless way in which they've been conducting their activities under DOGE,' Stansbury said 'So I think it's going to take, frankly, not only many years to rebuild from the destruction that Elon Musk unleashed on the government, but to even understand what they did inside these agencies,' Stansbury told host Lawrence O'Donnell. 'And also, I mean, the impacts are still being felt to this day.' Musk served as a special government employee in President Trump's administration, advising DOGE on cost-cutting efforts in hopes of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and slashing down the national debt. Those efforts have received strong pushback from Democrats in Congress. Musk said on Wednesday that he is leaving the White House, shortly after criticizing Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' a massive GOP budget bill that contains the president's legislative agenda. 'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit … and it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told 'CBS Sunday Morning.' On Thursday night, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would hold a press conference with Musk on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EDT 'This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific! See you tomorrow at the White House,' the president wrote. Stansbury told O'Donnell that the impact of DOGE's work is felt in her home state. 'Last night, I was talking to a doctor here in New Mexico, who said he can't renew his license to give prescriptions right now because DOGE messed up the DEA website,' the New Mexico Democrat said. 'So I mean, DOGE is still there, frankly, wreaking havoc on the federal government.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
House Democrat: It'll take ‘many years' to ‘rebuild' from Musk ‘destruction'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said that it will take 'many years' for the federal government agencies to 'rebuild' from the 'destruction' by tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel. Stansbury, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said during a Thursday night appearance on MSNBC's 'The Last Word' that investigations into DOGE are 'ongoing' because many court cases are in play against the advisory panel, whose work has resulted in the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers led to effectively shutting down entire agencies. 'I mean, these actual investigations are ongoing because there's so many court cases against what's going on. You know, it was just announced today that a judge was allowing a court case that's actually led by the Attorney General of New Mexico to continue because of the lawless way in which they've been conducting their activities under DOGE,' Stansbury said 'So I think it's going to take, frankly, not only many years to rebuild from the destruction that Elon Musk unleashed on the government, but to even understand what they did inside these agencies,' Stansbury told host Lawrence O'Donnell. 'And also, I mean, the impacts are still being felt to this day.' Musk served as a special government employee in President Trump's administration, advising DOGE on cost-cutting efforts in hopes of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and slashing down the national debt. Those efforts have received strong pushback from Democrats in Congress. Musk said on Wednesday that he is leaving the White House, shortly after criticizing Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' a massive GOP budget bill that contains the president's legislative agenda. 'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit … and it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told 'CBS Sunday Morning.' On Thursday night, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would hold a press conference with Musk on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EDT 'This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific! See you tomorrow at the White House,' the president wrote. Stansbury told O'Donnell that the impact of DOGE's work is felt in her home state. 'Last night, I was talking to a doctor here in New Mexico, who said he can't renew his license to give prescriptions right now because DOGE messed up the DEA website,' the New Mexico Democrat said. 'So I mean, DOGE is still there, frankly, wreaking havoc on the federal government.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Local, state leaders discuss importance of federal social programs for senior New Mexicans
Sonia Saldaña, director of senior services for the City of Las Cruces, talks about how cuts to Medicaid would impact seniors during a roundtable hosted by U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lújan (D-N.M.) on May 27, 2025. (Leah Romero / Source NM) State and local leaders representing food banks, health care and senior services voiced their concerns to U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lújan (D-N.M.) with possible cuts to federal social programs as Congress considers the 'big, beautiful bill.' Lújan held the roundtable at Munson Senior Center in Las Cruces Tuesday where local advocates spoke of the impacts federal funding cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and federal nutrition programs will have on all New Mexicans, but particularly seniors. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill, which would make spending cuts to social programs, on May 22 and it now goes to members of the U.S. Senate to debate. 'This is quite concerning. These are the biggest cuts we've ever seen since the inception of this program,' Lújan said during the meeting. Joseph Roybal-Sanchez, director of AARP New Mexico, said about one in three New Mexicans receive Medicaid assistance, which provides health care for lower-income people, while about 930,000 New Mexicans receive Medicare assistance, health care for people 65 and older. Lújan noted that some people don't realize that many older people rely on benefits from both programs, not just one or the other, further 'compounding' the issue of defunding the programs. Las Cruces resident Jody Crowley shared that her adult son is on the autism spectrum and receives Medicaid benefits. He also works as an Uber driver in town, but the federal benefits help make ends meet. 'He is exactly the kind of person they want to throw off Medicaid. He's an able bodied young man with no dependents, and I am terrified,' Crowley said. ' I'm 77, my husband is 80. In five years, are we both going to be here? Are we both going to be competent? I don't know. So my concern is, who are they going to throw off and what is going to be the alternative?' Las Cruces resident Jody Crowley talks about how cuts to Medicaid would impact her family during a roundtable in Las Cruces hosted by U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lújan (D-N.M.) on May 27, 2025. (Leah Romero / Source NM) Sonia Saldaña, director of senior services for the City of Las Cruces, pointed to all of the services offered to older New Mexicans by senior centers, which are funded at least partially by federal dollars, such as in-person meals, meals on wheels, home care services, respite care for caregivers and programs supporting grandparents raising their grandchildren. 'People have to remember that our programs and our services are designed to allow people to stay living in their homes longer. We want people to stay in their homes longer. We don't want people to go to an institution early in life,' Saldaña said. 'For us, having those federal dollars and making sure that our constituents keep those Medicaid and Medicare dollars is at the top of the list because without that funding, a lot of these wouldn't be what they are.' Las Cruces resident Eileen Rosenblatt shared how she benefitted from the local meals on wheels program when she had to deal with medical situations that left her unable to cook for herself. 'It was a blessing in disguise because I didn't realize how hard it was for me…Cooking would have been terrible, just standing up and cooking,' Rosenblatt said. She added that she knows of another woman locally who is in her 90s and relies on meals on wheels regularly and 'cherishes' seeing the delivery person each day. Casa de Peregrinos Executive Director Lorenzo Alba explained that the Las Cruces food pantry has already had to deal with federal funding cuts in recent months and further cuts would have a 'major effect' on their operation. At the same time, he said food prices have increased by 24% in the last two years, putting another strain on their limited funds. 'The state can't fund everything. We need the federal government to help fund some of these programs for nutrition to get food out to the communities,' Alba said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A huge victory': Vasquez touts nixing of public lands sell-off in Congressional bill
U.S. Reps. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Ryan Zinke, a Republican from Montana, on May 7, 2025 announced a new bipartisan public lands caucus. (Photo courtesy U.S. Rep. Vasquez's office) The Republican reconciliation bill that cleared the United States House of Representatives by a narrow margin this week no longer authorizes the sale of thousands acres of public land in Utah and Nevada. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), who co-founded the Bipartisan Public Lands Caucus earlier this year, said the removal of that provision represents a 'huge victory' for all Americans concerned about public lands being sold to the highest bidder. Vasquez said in a statement he started the caucus with U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican, to beat back these attacks on public lands. 'We committed to working across party lines to sit down and ensure the integrity of our land management system. We've worked together across the aisle to prevent this unprecedented public lands sell-off,' Vasquez said. 'We will continue to work together to ensure our lands are public, accessible and well managed.' U.S. Reps. Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Zinke (R-MT) launch new bipartisan public lands caucus The provision would have gutted protections for 500,000 acres of land near Zion National Park, along with critical habitat for threatened desert tortoises and other areas designated by Congress for conservation, according to New Mexico Wild, a conservation advocacy group. That could have meant the lands were turned into 'golf courses, luxury resorts or strip malls,' the group said in a statement Thursday. Environmental groups nationally have applauded the removal of the provision, which Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and Mark Amodei (R-Nevada) sponsored. New Mexico Wild's executive director Mark Allison said the bipartisan pushback was a factor in maintaining the land's protections, but he warned that this is the first of many fights in coming days to stave off efforts to privatize public lands. 'The fact that House Republicans were forced to retreat shows that when we unite to defend our birthright, politicians listen,' he said in a statement. 'But make no mistake — this fight is far from over. The same forces that tried to sneak this land grab through would love nothing more than to come after New Mexico's public lands next time.' The reconciliation bill now heads to the Senate.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A GOP Congressman Was Caught Sleeping During A Hearing On A Bill That Would Kick Millions Of People Off Medicaid
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) once criticized former President Joe Biden's administration for being 'asleep at the wheel,' but was caught quite literally napping himself on Wednesday during a House rules committee hearing on President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' The legislation could kick millions of people off of Medicaid and curb eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps around 42 million Americans buy food each month, while extending the tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017. Republicans had set the meeting for 1 a.m., which appeared to be past Norman's bedtime. Related: People Are Obsessed With Pope Francis's Final, Resounding Message To JD Vance After His Visit To The Vatican '@RepRalphNorman is ripping health care away from 13 million Americans not exciting enough to stay awake?' Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, with an accompanying video showing Norman dozing off during the hearing. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández / Via Twitter: @RepTeresaLF Fernández posted the footage at 2:16 a.m. ET, suggesting Norman only made it through a little over an hour before falling asleep. It was the second time in a week that a Republican member of Congress dozed off during a hearing related to Trump's consequential bill. Related: "Honestly Speechless At How Evil This Is": 26 Brutal, Brutal, Brutal Political Tweets Of The Week 'HE DOESN'T CARE,' wrote one user on X in response to the footage, with another person commenting: 'If only MAGA cared as much about the middle class as they do billionaires, the world would be a better place.' The controversial legislation would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for Trump's mass deportation initiative and a newly announced 'Golden Dome' missile defense system — which the president himself admitted Tuesday the U.S. military hadn't even asked for. Republicans narrowly voted Sunday to advance the package, formally known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with various holdouts demanding even faster cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs passed during Biden's administration than it calls for. Norman himself shared some gripes Friday with the bill and complained in a statement that the health care portion 'delays working requirements for able-bodied adults' until 2029 and doesn't 'combat Obamacare's unfair Medicaid expansion' as much as he'd like. As for a provision aiming to make Trump's tax cuts permanent, however, he wrote simply: 'That is INCREDIBLE!!' The congressman is currently being wildly defended by pro-Trump users on social media who argue the bill will only affect illegal article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: A Picture Of Donald Trump's Face Being Two Completely Different Colors Is Going Viral For Obvious Reasons Also in In the News: "WHY ARE PEOPLE SO STUPID": This MAGA Supporter Shared 10 Reasons Why They Regret Voting For Trump, And The Internet Is Not Impressed Also in In the News: From Kamala Harris Back In '01 To Joe Biden As A Youngish Man, Here's What 11 Politicians Looked Like Back In The Day
