Cabinet shuffle still has New Mexicans in mix

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham evidently is staying in New Mexico, which finally puts to rest the speculation that had her headed to Washington, D.C., to work for President-elect Joe Biden. For a state gripped by the catastrophe of COVID-19, it’s absolutely the right … well, move.

Lujan Grisham’s chin-out determination to manage the coronavirus pandemic is just what this state will need in the next few months as it plans to administer a muchneeded vaccine and balance our myriad needs — challenges that have become only more pronounced in the past nine months.

Lujan Grisham often says, “I have the best job in the world as governor of New Mexico.” It’s a line many of her predecessors have uttered as they angled to leave the state.

In the next two years, we’ll find out if she really means it. Governing New Mexico is no easy job.

And it surely wasn’t as glamorous as Cabinet secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would have been. While Lujan Grisham would have made a fine appointment for Biden — her knowledge and background on the topic is superior to that of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has been tapped for the post — it’s better for New Mexico that the governor is staying put.

Biden’s Cabinet still could have a New Mexican; several are being considered to serve as secretary of the Department of the Interior. Interestingly, had Lujan Grisham merely wanted a Cabinet job, she was offered the job at Interior but turned it down. Or at least that’s the reporting on the Cabinet shuffle.

Even without Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are in the mix at Interior, along with U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, the congresswoman from the Albuquerque area. If appointed, she would be the first Native Cabinet member in history, especially significant since the Bureau of Indian Affairs is under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior. Dozens of her fellow House members are supporting her nomination.

Udall, of course, is the son of former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall and has decades of experience in forming policy in the areas of natural resources, public lands and tribal issues.

There’s a dark horse — Michael L. Connor. He’s another New Mexican and former deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior with roots at Taos Pueblo through a grandparent. When he was confirmed as deputy secretary, tribes praised the appointment, with the National Congress of American Indians saying, “We are confident that Mr. Connor will be a strong partner for Indian Country and we look forward to working with him to advance our nation-to-nation relationship.”

After growing up in Las Cruces and graduating from New Mexico State University with a degree in engineering, Connor attended law school at the University of Colorado and is an acknowledged tribal water rights expert.

From just the candidates whose names are public, it is clear Biden has a rich pool of choices to run the Department of the Interior.

Udall, who gives his farewell speech Tuesday on the floor of the Senate, has deep policy knowledge and a broad vision of how to care for precious resources, respect tribal nations and protect our public lands. His appointment least upsets the seniority of New Mexico’s congressional delegation since he is retiring. Heinrich, by staying in the Senate, will continue to earn seniority and be in a position to protect the state’s interests. Haaland has excited many in her first House term (she just was reelected to a second) — and is a strong voice for protecting our national treasures. And finally, there is Connor, who knows the agency from the inside out but also would be a groundbreaking pick.

All New Mexicans. In a state with relatively few people, there’s an outsized base of talent. In all, plenty to be proud about.