Las Cruces council denounces Herrell’s vote
The leaders of the largest city in southern New Mexico condemned their representative in the U.S. House of Representatives for objecting to President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Last month, Rep. Yvette Herrell, D-N.M., joined dozens of lawmakers who voted against certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. The freshman congresswoman said she was objecting to the results to draw attention to the changes in voting practices in several states.
On Monday night, Las Cruces city councilors and the mayor unanimously voted to condemn Herrell’s actions in a resolution criticizing her vote.
“Rep. Herrell set a precedent that could be invoked by future members of the House of Representatives to disenfranchise the voters of New Mexico and Las Cruces,” the resolution says.
Jordan Haverly, a spokesman for Herrell, dismissed the effort, calling it “meaningless.”
“It’s sad this is how the Las Cruces City Council chose to spend their week. Why weren’t they preparing for the immigration and funding crisis headed their way thanks to President Biden’s executive actions,” he said in an email. “Congresswoman Herrell remains focused on what matters to New Mexicans — their safety, their jobs, and their children’s futures. Instead of meaningless resolutions, she’s introduced legislation to keep essential border health protocols in place and to protect our state’s jobs and public education system.”
NEW MEXICANS TO INTERIOR:
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Biden’s
nominee for secretary of the interior, isn’t the only New Mexican preparing to take a leadership position in the department.
This week, the agency said several people are moving into leadership positions, and a few with ties to New Mexico were on the list.
■ Molly Callaghan will be the advance representative. She grew up in Florida before moving to New Mexico to go to the University of New Mexico. She has worked on several political campaigns in the state and was most recently a field representative for Haaland.
■ Abdiel Razo will be the special assistant to the chief of staff. He was previously a staff assistant in Haaland’s congressional office. Before that he was a communications associate for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.
■ Alex Sanchez will be the special assistant in the office of assistant secretary — Land and Minerals Management. An Albuquerque native, Sanchez has worked as a senior campaign researcher for former Gov. Bill Richardson and former Sen. Tom Udall. She recently worked as a researcher on Michael Bloomberg and Biden’s presidential campaigns.
PARTY-LINE VOTE ON CONTROVERSIAL
LAWMAKER: New Mexico’s House members voted 2-1 along party lines to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from committee assignments.
The House on Thursday removed Greene from two committees in response to statements she made before holding office. Those statements include her agreeing that some school shootings were faked, California wildfires were started with space lasers linked to Jewish financial interests and other conspiracies. She’s also made threatening posts on social media.
Only 11 Republicans joined Democrats to banish Greene from her two committee assignments. New Mexico’s lone Republican member of Congress, Yvette Herrell, was not among them.
Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Deb Haaland did vote to oust Greene from her committees.
The vote was unprecedented, according to published reports. While party leaders in the past have banished their own members from committee assignments, last week’s effort was unique because it was the Democrats removing a Republican from her positions.