Adrian Hedden
achedden@currentargus.com
Eugene Heathman
eheathman@elritomedia.com
El Rito Media

Federal agencies manage some of southern New Mexico’s biggest economic drivers, and Republican lawmakers warned they could be facing funding cuts in response to the state administration’s apparent opposition to President Donald Trump.

Trump in recent months sought to cut government spending, creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk to trim the federal workforce and cancel expenses such as real estate contracts throughout the U.S.

Trump also indicated he could curb funds to states that do not comply with his executive orders on a range of topics including border security, transgender athletes and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

In one example of the Trump administration’s efforts to ensure state compliance, the Department of Education on April 3 sent a “reminder” to state education agencies of their “legal obligations” under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, arguing that any state using DEI practices could be found in violation of federal law and denied funding.

New Mexico Sen. Jim Townsend, a Republican who represents parts of Eddy and Chaves counties in Senate District 34, said the best solution is for New Mexico to comply with Trump’s directives.

Townsend is a member of the newly created interim Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee within New Mexico’s Legislative Council, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers tasked with analyzing the effects of Trump’s actions on the state, aiming to limit economic impacts resulting from possible federal funding cuts.

“We shouldn’t be singled out,” Townsend said. “The president has the authority to act. If there are cuts, I want to make sure we aren’t impacted more than others.”

Carlsbad Mayor Rick Lopez, a Republican who said he voted for Trump in the 2024 election, said potential staff cuts at federal agencies were troubling, as Carlsbad is home to several federal agencies that oversee its key industries: oil and gas, nuclear waste, and tourism.

“It’s a dilemma,” he said. “These kinds of uncertainties are tough.”

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said despite Trump’s actions, he expected the village would still receive relief dollars from the federal government he said it was entitled to via disaster declaration enacted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the wake of South Fork and Salt Fires.

The fires burned about 17,000 acres in spring 2024, leading to at least two deaths and destroying hundreds of homes in the Ruidoso area, subsequently causing devastating floods int he area.

Crawford did agree though that defying Trump’s orders could interrupt other federal funds for the state.

‘I can see where some funding could be interrupted. However, we are under a Presidential Disaster #4795 and that is not so much a political issue,” he said.

“I can see that interfering with (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Border Patrol or other agencies might get your funding stopped.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham indicated in recent months that she could call a special session before the regular 2026 Legislative Session to potentially deal with such impacts.

But Townsend maintained that the best policy was to follow Trump’s orders.

“There are certain things President Trump asked the states to do,” Townsend said, pointing to Trump’s calls for states to block transgender women from playing women’s sports and to enforce federal immigration laws. “We did the sanctuary thing, with was directly against him. I think those things will have direct consequences.”

While New Mexico has no official state law declaring it a “sanctuary state” for undocumented residents of the U.S., major cities such as Albuquerque and Santa Fe have enacted policies to limit local compliance with federal immigration enforcement, according to a Feb. 18 report from the University of New Mexico.

On April 15, Lujan Grisham and four other Democrat governors – JB Pritzker of Illinois, Jared Polis of Colorado, Wes Moore of Maryland and Tina Kotek of Oregon – sent a letter to the Trump-led Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, opposing a rule proposed by the agency to increase federal oversight over health care insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

The rule would have the effect, the governors wrote, of blocking states from regulating their own health care markets.

“The ACA marketplace has provided stable, affordable coverage for New Mexico families working hard to move up the economic ladder, ensuring continuity of care as incomes change,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

“This proposed rule threatens to disrupt that progress, shift costs to New Mexicans, create unnecessary administrative barriers, and limit access to essential health services, ultimately hurting working families across our state.”

‘You can’t run out of money.’

At the federally owned Waste Isolation Pilot Plant about 30 miles east of Carlsbad the Department of Energy already saw a 25% reduction in its federal workforce, mostly through DOGE-led voluntary terminations occurring when employees accepted buyouts allowing them to stop working in February but collect a salary through September.

WIPP is where the federal government disposes of transuranic nuclear waste (TRU), which is clothing materials, equipment and other debris irradiated during nuclear activities.

Most of the work is undertaken by Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, a contractor hired by the Department of Energy, which leads operations at WIPP. But about 50 of the 1,500 WIPP workers across Eddy and Lea counties are federal, employed by U.S. Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office.

Reductions in the federal staff, along with hiring freezes that could be imposed on the budget that funds Salado could affect the long-term health of the WIPP facility, a major employer in the area, Lopez said. Along with being mayor of Carlsbad, Lopez also works at the WIPP site.

“Anyone could take it,” Lopez said of the buyouts. “You could potentially lose an entire department.”

He also alluded to the termination of 14 workers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park via DOGE in February, leading to the cancellation of ranger-guided tours and limited visitation hours. Lopez said he was unaware of any staff cuts at the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees oil and gas operations on federal land in the region.

Bureau officials declined to comment on any possible staff cuts at the agency.

What is certain, Townsend said, was that if the state skirts policy preferences coming from the White House, it could be in danger of retaliatory downsizing.

“Most of these things, we will have the ability to work around,” he said of reductions tied to DOGE’s activities, and other systemic reductions in spending. “But I think it’s problematic to go against his initiatives. It’s ludicrous to poke the bear and not expect him to bite you.”

And while he expected the Village of Ruidoso to receive the federal funds needed to rebuild from the fires and future disasters, Crawford said he welcomes agency reforms under Trump.

“Of course, we are working on long term project planning that will need future funding, all conversations indicate disaster funding for FEMA projects will be coming,” Crawford said.

“There is a consensus that FEMA will be overhauled, personally I think that is a good thing.”

But concerns lingered for Lopez that the resulting cuts could also impact infrastructure grants the city relies on for road repairs and other improvements. He said the region that pumps enough oil to fund almost half of the state budget already sees little local return from Santa Fe.

“With oil and gas growing, we can’t keep up with the roads as it is,” Lopez said. “We don’t always get a lot of state money this way. It’s frustrating, but you can’t run out of money. That’s not how it works.”