Lujan Grisham to stay in New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appears to be staying in New Mexico following months of speculation she might lead the U.S. Health and Human Services Department or take another job in Presidentelect Joe Biden’s administration.
The New York Times reported Sunday night that Biden selected Xavier Becerra, the Democratic attorney general of California and a former congressman, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services.
“As I’ve consistently said, I have the best job in the world as Governor of New Mexico. I look forward to working with the Biden Administration as we tackle the challenges we’re facing here in New Mexico and also across the country,” Lujan Grisham said Sunday in a statement. “COVID-19, combating climate change, and rebuilding our nation’s economy are just a few of the areas where we need to make significant progress right now.”
Democratic governors last week unanimously confirmed Lujan Grisham, a former congresswoman and secretary of the state Department of Health and the state Department of Aging and Long-Term Services, as the new chairwoman of the Washington, D.C.-based Democratic Governors Association for 2021.
Her term as governor runs through 2022, and after reportedly being considered as a potential pick for vice president, she is serving as one of five co-chairpersons on Biden’s transition team.
Last week, the New York Times reported that U.S. Sen.-elect Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) criticized the incoming Biden administration’s treatment of Lujan Grisham after reports surfaced that she had been offered and turned down the position of secretary of the interior.
Luján rebuked the incoming White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, and other senior Biden officials for the leak, which cited a Democrat familiar with the virtual meeting between members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and top advisers to Biden, according to the New York Times.
In a statement provided to The New Mexican, Luján declined to address the accuracy of the report.
“I’m a firm believer that family discussions should remain between family,” Luján said in the statement.
Politico reported last month that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus had been making a “strong push” for Lujan Grisham, who used to be a member of the group, to be tapped as health secretary.
For the job Lujan Grisham reportedly passed up, Biden also is rumored to be considering U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).
She would become the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior, which oversees concerns crucial to the West and the nation, including grazing, parks and recreation, and oil and gas extraction on federal land. The agency also oversees coastal drilling, among other environmental concerns. Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, won the open 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Lujan Grisham in 2018.
Two other New Mexicans, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, are also said to be under consideration for secretary of the interior.