Governor fills vacant NM House seat over halfway into the session - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
With the 60-day legislative session over the halfway point, House District 6 in west-central New Mexico finally has representation.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Wednesday appointed Democrat Martha Garcia to the seat, effective immediately. The district spans both Cibola and McKinley counties, and includes the village of Milan, Zuni Pueblo, and parts of the Navajo Nation.
Garcia is a former Cibola County Commissioner from Pine Hill, New Mexico.
District residents have been without representation after the late Democratic Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon stepped down last year while battling liver cancer, which he succumbed to just last month.
The appointment process has been fraught, with county commissioners initially nominating then-outgoing District 69 Democratic Rep. Harry Garcia for the position. While still representing that district, he claimed to be living in the vacant District 6. The state Department of Justice found that not to be the case.
Garcia won the governor’s appointment over former state Sen. Clemente Sanchez.
Southern NM clinic briefly turned away undocumented patients, citing Trump executive order - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A Southern New Mexico medical clinic turned undocumented patients away Wednesday morning, but quickly reversed course after receiving guidance from a state primary care association, according to state and federal officials.
Ben Archer Health Centers operates 11 clinics in Southern New Mexico. On Wednesday morning, an employee at a Las Cruces clinic posted a sign warning that “any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.”
The announcement cited an executive order that President Donald Trump signed Feb. 19, which directed all members of his cabinet, not rural health clinics like Ben Archer, to identify within 30 days ways in which federal funds are being spent on “illegal aliens.”
A constituent sent a photo of the sign to the office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who posted it on social media. A spokesperson said in a news release that Heinrich’s office verified that the clinic was also turning away patients at its school-based health clinics, and in an interview with Source New Mexico said that patients were unable to fill prescriptions or get seen at previously scheduled appointments.
According to the center’s website, which contains information for patients in both English and Spanish, the center has clinics in schools in Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.
The nonprofit clinic’s executive director, Mary Alice Garay, did not respond to a request for comment from Source New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. According to the center’s most recent tax filings, it received more than $50 million in revenue last fiscal year, including about one-third of it from government sources. The clinic employs three doctors and a dentist, according to the filings.
The clinic reversed its policy within hours after receiving guidance from the New Mexico Primary Care Association, New Mexico Health Department spokesperson Robert Nott said in an email. The association is a nonprofit that represents health care facilities in the state and works as a liaison between members and government agencies, Nott said.
The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to the news release from Heinrich’s office, New Mexico and federal law require clinics like Ben Archer to provide healthcare to all residents, regardless of their immigration status.
“What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn’t just wrong, it was illegal. I am glad they reversed course, and that they did it quickly,” Heinrich said in the news release. “Let this be a lesson to all health care providers that we will hold you accountable for following the law.”
Diamond Tail, Rancho Viejo opponents urge legislators to require siting review - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
An attempt to require the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to develop rules regarding siting and permitting of renewable energy facilities that generate more than 5 megawatts of electricity failed to pass its first committee, likely killing the bill’s chances of becoming a law.
A motion to move HB 435 forward failed on a 4-6 vote in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday and the bill was subsequently tabled.
While that does not necessarily mean the legislation is dead, it is unlikely that it will move forward this session.
HB 435 came as a response to the controversial Diamond Tail and Rancho Viejo solar projects as well as transmission lines such as the Western Spirit Transmission Line, which nearby residents say are in areas where energy projects should not be located.
“We don’t have any state public oversight over renewable facilities above a certain level, and that level is 5 megawatts, which is the maximum for a community solar installation,” bill sponsor Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, said.
Outside of the community solar sphere, the PRC currently only weighs in on siting of projects that exceed 300 megawatts in generation capacity.
In addition to asking the PRC to develop rules for siting of renewable projects, McQueen said HB 435 would also ask the PRC to develop rules for where transmission lines that don’t cross statelines are located.
McQueen said when the developers of Western Spirit Transmission Line heard concerns from the public that the project could impact the views from an archaeological site near Mountainair, the developers chose to move the project.
“But the fact remains that the process there is one where large corporations are basically saying, ‘trust us’ without a formal process,” McQueen said.
The Diamond Tail and Rancho Viejo solar projects are both located off of New Mexico Highway 14, which is a scenic byway known as the Turquoise Trail. Nearby residents have rallied against both projects. Diamond Tail would be located in a small pocket of Sandoval County in the East Mountains. Rancho Viejo would be located near Santa Fe.
Nearby residents that oppose the two projects say they are concerned about fire dangers associated with battery storage as well as impacts to views, traffic and water resources.
Dennis Kellogg, an East Mountains resident and vocal opponent of the Diamond Tail project, was among the members of the public urging legislators to support HB 435.
“What we’ve seen in these facilities going across the state…is there’s a huge gap in knowledge and ability in siting from one county, one city to another,” he said.
McQueen said the Diamond Tail project, while it is located in Sandoval County, will likely primarily impact residents of Santa Fe County.
Some members of the committee expressed concerns that HB 435 could limit local control or take authority away from local governments.
“I think the real question is…isn’t the local community better suited when it comes to site selection?” Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said. “Is the local community better off making the determination as to listening to the concerns of the people in that community who don’t want it here or don’t want it there. It just feels like people who want to stop a project will now have two bites at the apple.”
A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade - By Devi Shastri and Amanda Seitz, Associated Press
A child who wasn't vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious respiratory disease since 2015.
The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread outbreak, Texas' largest in nearly 30 years. Since it began last month, a rash of 124 cases has erupted across nine counties.
The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The Lubbock hospital where the child had been treated — and where most measles patients have been hospitalized during the outbreak — didn't respond to a request for comment.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's top health official and a vaccine critic, said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is "watching" cases, though he did not provide specifics on how the federal agency is assisting. He dismissed Texas' outbreak as "not unusual" during a Wednesday meeting of President Donald Trump's Cabinet members.
"We're following the measles epidemic every day," Kennedy said in response to a reporter's question about the child's death. The health secretary also appeared to misspeak at the meeting, saying two people had died of the disease. A spokesman for the federal agency later clarified that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified only one death.
The federal government is providing vaccines as well as technical and laboratory support in West Texas, but the state health department is leading the response, said Andrew Nixon, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said through a spokesman that his office is in regular communication with the state health department and epidemiologists, and that vaccination teams are in the "affected area."
"The state will deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans," said spokesman Andrew Mahaleris, calling the child's death a tragedy.
The CDC has said it will provide only weekly updates on the measles outbreak, and has not yet updated its public webpage to reflect the child's death. Texas health department data shows that a majority of the reported measles cases are in children.
The virus has largely spread among rural, oil rig-dotted towns in West Texas, with cases concentrated in a "close-knit, undervaccinated" Mennonite community, health department spokesperson Lara Anton said. Gaines County, which has reported 80 cases so far, has a strong homeschooling and private school community. It is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — which is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases — is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old for the first shot, with the second coming between 4 and 6 years old.
Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.
The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide.
Last week, Secretary Kennedy vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases, despite promises not to change it during his confirmation hearings.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
The U.S. had considered measles eliminated in 2000, which meant there had been a halt in continuous spread of the disease for at least a year. Measles cases rose in 2024, including a Chicago outbreak that sickened more than 60.
____
AP writers Jim Vertuno and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report.
Bill paving the way for low-income utility rates passes House - Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed legislation that would pave the way for low-income rates for investor-owned utility customers.
HB 91 would let utilities submit applications to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for low-income utility rates. It passed the House on a 42-25 vote.
The legislation does not create a low-income rate, but instead would allow investor-owned utilities to craft a rate or develop a program that is then brought to the PRC for approval. The investor-owned utilities include New Mexico Gas Company, the Public Service Company of New Mexico, El Paso Electric and Southwestern Public Service Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy.
“The utility is going to determine based on what the needs are, what kind of program they want to design and develop,” bill sponsor Rep. Kristina Ortez, D-Taos, said.
This could be a lower utility rate or it could be a program that assists customers. The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee amended the bill on Feb. 10 to include programs that reduce the energy burden for low-income households.
Republicans who opposed HB 91 argued the low-income rates will shift the burden from low-income households to middle-income households that may still be struggling to make ends meet.
“I don’t think it’s just for someone to have to pay one rate while someone else pays another rate just based on income,” Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, said.
Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, highlighted that there are already a variety of organizations and programs to help low-income customers pay their utility bills. Duncan unsuccessfully attempted to amend HB 91 to prevent utilities from raising rates on other customers to subsidize the low-income utility rates.
Ortez argued when low-income households are unable to pay their bills, that expense is passed on to other ratepayers. Additionally, she said subsidies already exist when it comes to utility rates, such as economic development rates.
Kinship caregiver support pilot program heads to the House floor - Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
An estimated 40,000 New Mexico children were raised by grandparents, next-of-kin or family friends in 2024, according to the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department, which cites parental substance abuse disorders as the primary reason.
House Bill 252, sponsored by 24 lawmakers and carried by Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo), would create a three-year Kinship Caregiver Support Pilot Program to assist kinship caregivers in navigating the legal system and other supportive services they may not know are available to them.
The bill unanimously passed the House Appropriations and Finance Committee Monday. It previously passed the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee and will now head to the floor for a full House vote.
The bill identifies Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Taos, McKinley and Doña Ana counties as locations for the program. Fifty participants in each community who are grandparents, next-of-kin or close family friends, known as fictive kin, who are raising children will find help through legal services, public assistance and economic support. The program would be operated out of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department and receive a $4.5 million general fund appropriation.
“You see statistically that grandchildren do better when they’re with their family. Children do better when they’re with kin verses in the foster system, and that’s exactly what this bill is going to help do,” Rep. Michelle Abeyta (D-To’hajilee) told committee members, adding that she went through a similar situation herself as a child when her grandmother sought guardianship of her.
If passed and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, HB252 would go into effect immediately and require annual reports assessing the program.
Herrera told committee members Monday that the program is ultimately intended to help caregivers “navigate through the programs we have in place at the federal, state and local level.”
“When you have this problem before you, you don’t know what you don’t know,” Herrera said. “The aging department would help people kind of learn about what’s available to them.”
According to the bill’s fiscal impact report, the Aging and Long-Term Services Department reports that the estimated number of New Mexico children under kinship care grew by 10,000 children between 2017 and 2024 and is much higher than the national average. The report also notes that over a quarter of grandparents raising their grandchildren in 2022 lived in poverty.
Herrera said she envisions the program growing to include more counties and communities in the state, but for now she is limited to the five counties where nonprofit organizations or foundations have agreed to join as program partners.
She added that she chose the aging department rather than the Children, Youth and Families Department to administer the program because grandparents are more comfortable with senior centers. She noted a negative perception people have of CYFD, which oversees the state’s foster care system.
CYFD and the Human Services Department were sued in 2018 based on claims that children in New Mexico’s welfare system were not receiving behavioral health services and appropriate foster placements. The parties entered into a settlement, known as the Kevin S. Settlement, in 2020 and the case was dismissed. The settlement agreement involves a change in department policies, oversight and data collection. Several proposals at this year’s Legislature seek to reform the department.
“We chose aging because people don’t trust CYFD. Grandparents don’t want to go to CYFD,” Herrera said. “We wanted a place where grandparents felt safe.”
Measles cases continue to rise in rural parts of West Texas, with 124 confirmed - By Devi Shastri, AP Health Writer
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday, and 18 people are hospitalized.
The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community in an area where small towns are separated by vast stretches of oil rig-dotted open land but connected due to people traveling between towns for work, church, grocery shopping and other day-to-day errands.
Brownfield Mayor Eric Horton, a Republican, said he believes in the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine because it has been used for so many years and has stopped measles from spreading in the U.S.
Brownfield is in Terry County, which has 21 cases.
"I've never seen it this close, ever," Horton said. "I know that we've had a few outbreaks in years past but as far as right here, making national news, that is shocking."
In neighboring eastern New Mexico, the measles case count stayed steady Tuesday at nine. State public health officials said last week there's still no evidence New Mexico's outbreak is connected to the one in Texas.
Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here's what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what's happening in Texas and New Mexico.
Where is measles spreading?
Tuesday's count in West Texas went up by 34 cases since Friday. Cases continue to be concentrated in Gaines County, which has 80 infections, and Terry County, north of Gaines, where there are now 21.
Dawson County, to the east of Gaines, has seven; Yoakum County has five; Ector County has two; and Lubbock and Lynn counties have a case each. Martin County, also near Gaines, is new with three cases.
The state also said there are four cases in Dallam County, which is in the far corner of the state's Panhandle area and a couple hundred miles north of Gaines County, and potential exposures in mid-February from an infected, contagious person who traveled to San Marcos, San Antonio and New Braunfels.
Texas health department data shows the vast majority of cases are among people younger than 18: 39 infections are in kids younger than 4 and 62 are in kids 5-17 years old. Eighteen adults have measles and five cases are "pending" an age determination.
State health officials have said this outbreak is Texas' largest in nearly 30 years. Cases have been concentrated in a "close-knit, undervaccinated" Mennonite community, health department spokeswoman Lara Anton has said — especially among families who attend small private religious schools or are homeschooled.
A Brownfield resident and father of three told The Associated Press that he's not too concerned about the outbreak.
"I only found out because it was a word-of-mouth thing," said Dylan Cruz, 28, whose children are vaccinated against measles.
In New Mexico, all the cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas. The state health department has said people may have been exposed at a grocery store, an elementary school, a church, Nor-Lea Hospital and a Walgreens in Hobbs, New Mexico.
What is measles?
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
Is the vaccine safe?
The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective in preventing measles infection and severe cases of the disease.
The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide.
Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, it's usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.
There is no link between the vaccine and autism, despite a now-discredited study and health disinformation.
Why do vaccination rates matter?
In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called "herd immunity."
But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60. Five years earlier, measles cases were the worst in almost three decades in 2019.
Gaines County has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year. Health officials say that number is likely higher because it doesn't include many children who are homeschooled and whose data would not be reported.
What are public health officials doing to stop the spread?
New Mexico health officials are hosting vaccination clinics on Wednesday and Thursday.
In Texas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is providing "technical assistance, laboratory support and vaccines as needed," the agency told the AP. But the state health department is taking the lead in the outbreak investigation.
Workers in the West Texas region are hosting regular vaccination clinics and screening efforts, and also said they're working with schools to educate people about the importance of vaccination and offering shots.
Dr. Martin Ortega is a family medicine physician for Texas Tech Physicians of the Permian Basin-Odessa in in Ector County, where the county health department told the Odessa American that a child too young to be vaccinated got the measles.
Ortega said the vast distances between people in West Texas is a unique challenge for health officials.
"It is something that puts us on a shared higher alert because we are interconnected and we don't see ourselves as that far from each other," he said.
US energy secretary touts nuclear power as tech sector's thirst for electricity grows - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says it's critical that the nation be out in front when it comes to artificial intelligence, and that means having reliable and affordable sources of electricity to meet the growing demands of the technology sector.
Wright made the comments Tuesday before touring Sandia National Laboratories. On Monday, he visited Los Alamos National Laboratory, home to the top secret project during World War II that created the atomic bomb.
A fossil fuel executive and graduate of MIT, Wright highlighted the labs' legacies and said they will play a role in what he described as this generation's Manhattan Project — a critical scientific undertaking that will change the course of the world in ways yet to be imagined.
To win the AI race, he said the nation needs reliable and affordable electricity and the infrastructure to move it around.
"I'm a believer," Wright said, adding that nuclear power will be part of the solution.
How big is the nuclear piece of the energy pie?
Federal energy analysts say the U.S. has generated more nuclear electricity than any other country and that plants here have supplied close to 20% of the nation's total annual electricity since 1990. That's enough to power more than 70 million homes.
Nuclear power makes up less of the world's portfolio when it comes to generating energy than other sources, Wright said. That's despite plants having small footprints and running on small amounts of material that pack a big punch.
"It's playing a shrinking role in our energy pot," he said. "That doesn't square."
However, many states are looking to nuclear energy to fill the gap as more data centers come online and tech companies develop more energy-thirsty AI tools.
Arizona already is home to one of the nation's largest nuclear plants and utilities there have teamed up to explore the potential for building more. Meanwhile, California extended the life of its last operating nuclear plant with the help of more than $1 billion in federal funding. Officials say the Diablo Canyon plant is vital to California's power grid.
In Wyoming, TerraPower, a company started by Bill Gates, broke ground last summer on what officials say will be one of the first advanced reactors to operate in the U.S.
What does it take to feed nuclear power plants?
Nuclear power plants are fueled with uranium — the mining and milling of which is a major sticking point for environmentalists who point to legacy contamination from early operations in western U.S. states and on Native American lands. Concerns still swirl today, with some groups criticizing the revival of mining near the Grand Canyon.
The back end of the fuel cycle also is an issue, with commercial reactors across the country producing more than 2,000 metric tons of spent fuel annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Most of the waste remains at the sites that produce it because there's nowhere else to put it.
Private companies plan to temporarily store spent fuel in New Mexico and West Texas. In the case of Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether federal regulators have the authority to grant licenses for such facilities to operate.
Barring a permanent solution, both Republican and Democratic leaders in the two states have said they don't want to become the nation's nuclear dumping ground.
Wright acknowledged the challenge of spent fuel, saying there are "some creative ideas" on the horizon that could lead to long-term storage solutions at multiple sites around the U.S.
Is there a clear path for more nuclear power?
U.S. President Donald Trump has set the stage, signing executive orders aimed at stoking American innovation when it comes to AI, declaring a national energy emergency and establishing a national council that will be focused on "energy dominance."
The administration also supports a multibillion-dollar venture by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that involves building data centers and the electricity generation needed for further AI development.
The Biden administration, too, had touted nuclear power as a way to meet demands without emitting greenhouse gases. The administration last year set a target of at least tripling nuclear power in the U.S. by 2050.
Standing in a corner of the national nuclear science museum in Albuquerque, Wright noted that the nation's nuclear history began in large part in New Mexico with the development of the atomic bomb.
There are many reasons for the lack of progress over recent decades, including government regulations he called overly burdensome. Beyond ensuring human safety, he said the high bars that have been set have stifled the development of next-generation nuclear power.
"Our goal is to get that out of the way, bring private businesses together, and figure out what kind of nudge we might need to get shovels in the ground and next-generation small modular reactors happening," he said. "I think they will be part of the solution."
New Mexico signs agreement to build infrastructure campus in Santa Teresa with up to 5,000 jobs – By Megan Kamerick, KUNM News
A new partnership between the state of New Mexico and the company BorderPlex Digital Assets will create a digital infrastructure campus in Santa Teresa in southern New Mexico.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was joined by lawmakers and BorderPlex chairman Lanham Napier Monday, who signed a memorandum of understanding with the state.
Officials say the partnership will bring a $5 billion investment and 1,000 jobs. The campus will be an integrated hub that combines advanced manufacturing, data centers, water treatment, and utility and microgrid power generation.
Napier called the region a “national gem.”
“I think the border is an asset. I think we can invest in that border,” he said. “I believe we're having an infrastructure moment, and I think New Mexico is going to lead the way.”
El Paso Electric worked with BorderPlex to provide the power and create integrated infrastructure around the campus.
BorderPlex is also working with New Mexico State University to explore solutions around water management and a water desalination plant. The governor said there’s an appetite to think about brackish water supplies and preserving New Mexico’s fresh water.
“So, we're going to start at business-scale levels for blackish water using the best technology and innovation the world has to offer,” she said.
Phase One will break ground this year.
State implements identity verification for new unemployment claimants - By Matthew Narvaiz, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico residents filing for unemployment benefits must now verify their identity.
That’s according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, which announced the change Tuesday. The department in a news release said the change applies to people filing online and in person.
“We are committed to strengthening the integrity of our unemployment insurance system while also increasing options for the public,” Workforce Solutions Secretary Sarita Nair said in a statement. She said the change will “particularly benefit rural communities.”
Residents applying for unemployment benefits can do so online using Login.gov, the department said in a news release. Those who want to verify their identity in person can head to the more than two dozen America’s Job Center New Mexico locations and participating U.S. Postal Service offices.
The department said all new unemployment claimants must verify their identities within 10 days of submitting claims.
If verifying in person at a postal office, residents can bring a state-issued driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a U.S. armed forces ID card, or a U.S. passport — the latter two of which require a secondary ID.
If applying in person at a local America’s Job Center, a Social Security card, past year’s W-2 tax form with a full Social Security number, or paycheck stubs with the last four digits of the Social Security number must be submitted alongside either a birth certificate, state-issued driver’s license, state-issued ID card, passports and passport card, tribal identification or military ID.
New Mexico is the seventh state to offer multiple identity verification options and the 22nd to utilize the postal service — a collaboration between the USPS and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The news comes as Nair and state Economic Development Secretary-designate Rob Black held a Monday news conference to discuss options for laid-off federal workers in New Mexico. Nair told reporters about 140 federal workers have so far filed for unemployment claims, with another 2,200 workers on their probationary period — the latter a target for the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency to cut costs.