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| Heinrich in Taos |
Criticized for being adrift in the US Senate and for not actually liking the job, Senator Martin Heinrich seems to be finding his voice in the early stages of his third term.
That's thanks in no small part to President Trump and Republican lawmakers whose environmental policies especially rankle the Democratic senator with a well-known fondness for the natural environment.
Senate Republicans are proposing to sell off up to 3.3 million acres of federally owned land in 11 Western states to make room for affordable housing, a move Heinrich calls a "fire sale and "taking up a sledgehammer."
Here's Heinrich, the state's senior senator, at a Taos rally called to fight the plan as well as the president's push for more power to abolish national monuments including several in New Mexico:
Our national monuments are about who we are. They tell the story of our ancestors, support jobs and our rural economies, and connect Americans to our history and the land itself. No president can erase that. … We’re ready to fight back — and we won’t back down.
It's the kind of sharp-edged rhetoric that is not a Heinrich trademark but now with what he sees as an existential threat hanging over the lands that he cherishes, he is revealing a firmer and more confident voice backed up by his increasing seniority.
Just months ago Heinrich was close to leaving his job and announcing a run for governor. We discussed his change of heart with a close Heinrich political associate:
He really dropped his bid for governor because the arrival of Trump gave a new depth and seriousness to his position as a senator. It wasn't political. He sees his work now in a different light with more urgency and focus as the stakes go sky high for the issues that he cares most about.
Heinrich's rise to ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has put more institutional power behind him. If the Democrats take back the Senate in the years ahead he will likely become chairman of that committee so important to the state.
He is now following the career paths of Senators Domenici and Bingaman who found great satisfaction chairing the panel, a feeling that Heinrich, who came to the Hill in 2009 as a congressman, finally appears to be realizing.
Heinrich, 52, quietly campaigned to become Secretary of Interior under President Biden who eventually chose fellow New Mexican Deb Haaland. But if he sustains this trajectory of his senate career--ironically inspired by Trump--his strengthened voice will reverberate on the Hill and the nation.
THE JUNIOR SENATOR
While Heinrich concentrates on the state's environment and natural resources, Lujan, a new member of of the Senate Finance Committee, is focusing on the nitty gritty of entitlement programs--Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and food stamps--that are the target of budget-cutters. They are especially vital in high poverty New Mexico. He says:
. . .Cuts would shut down clinics, rip away food and care, and leave families with nowhere to turn. For seniors living on fixed incomes, for parents working to make ends meet, and for rural communities already facing barriers to care – these programs are lifelines. I will keep fighting in the Senate to stop these cuts and protect the dignity and well-being of every New Mexican.
Like Heinrich, Lujan, 53, came to Washington as a congressman in 2009. He has always demonstrated notable political skills but they have atrophied since his arrival in the Senate. But with Trump also reinvigorating him, the state's US Senate delegation is looking balanced and equipped for their long battle ahead.
This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.