Press Releases

February 19th, 2026

Heinrich, Luján Demand Further Investigation into Trump Administration’s Unlawful Dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter demanding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate potential violations committed during the U.S. Department of Commerce’s illegal dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), the only federal agency tasked with promoting...

February 19th, 2026

Heinrich Cosponsors Legislation to Stop Grocery Price Gouging

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) cosponsored the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act of 2026, legislation that will prohibit corporations from leveraging new technologies to increase grocery costs for New Mexicans. Corporations collect and purchase Americans’ personal data to create a detailed profile of consumers. This data,...

February 18th, 2026

Heinrich Demands Answers from Trump Administration on Treatment of Unaccompanied Children

Heinrich, colleagues to Trump Administration: “It is unconscionable that this Administration believes that children belong behind bars and should be stripped of protections that ensure access to food, water, and other necessities while in detention.” WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined 10 Democratic senators to send a letter...

February 18th, 2026

Ranking Members Heinrich, Klobuchar, Merkley, Huffman, Pingree, and Colleagues Call on Secretary Burgum to Halt Creation of Unified Wildfire Agency, Citing Dramatic Cuts at the Interior and Concerns with Fire Mismanagement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment,...

February 18th, 2026

Ranking Member Heinrich and Vice Chair Murray Slam DOE for Redirecting Congressionally Appropriated Funds for Clean Energy to Prop Up Coal Plants, Hurting Rural Communities and Driving Up Electricity Costs

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development subcommittee, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),...

February 17th, 2026

Ranking Member Heinrich Uplifts Call from President Roosevelt’s Descendants to Protect the Boundary Waters

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee,uplifted a New York Times article where President Teddy Roosevelt’s descendants pressed lawmakers to oppose a resolution that would open up mining next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This comes as the Senate is...

February 13th, 2026

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico FEMA claims office director Jay Mitchell put on administrative leave

— by Alaina Mencinger

Two of the top officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency office in charge of compensating victims of the 2022 Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire have been placed on administrative leave, according to an email. The move comes after news outlets reported Jay Mitchell, director of the New Mexico Joint Recovery Office since 2024, had received a...

February 13th, 2026

Heinrich Announces Launch of Federal Workforce Caucus, Vows to Continue Work to Support New Mexico’s Federal Workers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a bicameral group of senators and representatives in launching the Federal Workforce Caucus. The Caucus will focus on bolstering efforts to protect New Mexico federal workers and strengthening merit-based federal civil service so these dedicated public servants can continue to deliver for...

February 12th, 2026

Heinrich Opposes DHS Funding Lacking Needed Reforms

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after voting against advancing funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without any commonsense reforms to address lawlessness by the agency. "I will vote to fund TSA. I will vote to fund FEMA....

February 12th, 2026

Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández Statement on FEMA Announcement Regarding Hermit’s Peak Claims Office Leadership

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) issued the following joint statement on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announcement regarding Hermit’s Peak Claims Office leadership: “The FEMA announcement, following calls for action from the...

February 12th, 2026

E&E News: Senate Dems probe DOE using carbon capture funds to prop up coal

— by Hannah Northey

Top Senate Democrats are investigating the Department of Energy's plan to prop up aging coal plants with millions of dollars Congress originally set aside to advance carbon capture technologies and improve energy resiliency and environmental protection in rural areas. Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate Energy and...

February 12th, 2026

Albuquerque Journal: Luján, Heinrich vote against DHS funding

— by Cathy Cook

New Mexico’s U.S. senators voted against yearlong funding for the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, alongside all but one Senate Democrat, pushing the federal agency closer to a shutdown. Congress has passed annual funding for the majority of the federal government since the shutdown in November, but money for Homeland Security has...

February 12th, 2026

KTSM: Borderland lawmakers demand briefing on El Paso airspace closure

— by Jocelyn Flores

Regional lawmakers are demanding a classified briefing with members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet regarding the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary airspace closure that halted all El Paso air traffic Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Feb. 11. Democratic U.S. Reps. Veronica Escobar and Gabe Vasquez, including Democratic New Mexico...

February 12th, 2026

Source New Mexico: NM wildfire claims office director on ‘administrative leave’ following six-figure payout

— by Patrick Lohmann

Jay Mitchell, director of a multi-billion-dollar federal claims office for northern New Mexico wildfire victims, has been placed on “administrative leave” following revelations of a six-figure payout he received for smoke damage at his Angel Fire home, according to an email Source New Mexico obtained Thursday. Mitchell and his wife Lisa received...

February 12th, 2026

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico's congressional delegates demand answers on El Paso airspace closure

— by Nathan Brown

New Mexico’s congressional delegates are demanding answers after a sudden closure of airspace over El Paso and a nearby area of southeastern New Mexico disrupted flights early Wednesday morning amid a dispute between the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA announced late Tuesday it was closing the airspace around El Paso and...

February 11th, 2026

Univision: Senadores demócratas denuncian 'crueldad' en el trato del gobierno a menores no acompañados

— by Jorge Cancino

Un grupo de 11 senadores demócratas denunciaron este miércoles que el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) y Oficina de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) “tienen la intención de detener y expulsar a niños del país sin tener en cuenta las protecciones constitucionales o legales”, un plan que forma parte de la política migratoria de ‘tolerancia cero’...

February 11th, 2026

NOTUS: The Energy Department Is Failing to Meet Oversight Requirements, Congress’ Watchdog Says

— by Anna Kramer

The Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations has lost the staff required to properly oversee about $27 billion in funded energy projects, according to a new assessment from the Government Accountability Office The failure to meet those congressionally-mandated requirements stems from the Trump administration’s deep cuts to the...

February 10th, 2026

The Eastern New Mexico News: $4M allocated to restore college's turbine

— by Staff

TUCUMCARI - Mesalands Community College's iconic but idle wind turbine might generate power soon after U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico secured $4 million to repower it. The college received the funds as part of fiscal-year 2026 federal appropriations recently signed into law, a news release from the college stated last week. The college's...

February 10th, 2026

Heinrich Reiterates Demand for Secretary Noem to Resign Following DHS’ Lawlessness

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) joined U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and three Democratic senators in a letter demanding that U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem immediately resign as head of the DHS, citing her deplorable leadership and DHS’ lawlessness. In a letter to Secretary Noem, the senators...

February 10th, 2026

Heinrich, Kaine, Cassidy, Curtis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Combat Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated Fishing by Foreign Countries

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Curtis (R-Utah.) introduced the Protecting Global Fisheries Act, bipartisan legislation to combat illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing. Predatory IUU fishing, particularly by China, disrupts international trade, undermines maritime security,...

Heinrich, Luján Demand Further Investigation into Trump Administration’s Unlawful Dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency

Heinrich Cosponsors Legislation to Stop Grocery Price Gouging

Heinrich Demands Answers from Trump Administration on Treatment of Unaccompanied Children

Ranking Members Heinrich, Klobuchar, Merkley, Huffman, Pingree, and Colleagues Call on Secretary Burgum to Halt Creation of Unified Wildfire Agency, Citing Dramatic Cuts at the Interior and Concerns with Fire Mismanagement

Ranking Member Heinrich and Vice Chair Murray Slam DOE for Redirecting Congressionally Appropriated Funds for Clean Energy to Prop Up Coal Plants, Hurting Rural Communities and Driving Up Electricity Costs

Ranking Member Heinrich Uplifts Call from President Roosevelt’s Descendants to Protect the Boundary Waters

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico FEMA claims office director Jay Mitchell put on administrative leave

Heinrich Announces Launch of Federal Workforce Caucus, Vows to Continue Work to Support New Mexico’s Federal Workers

Heinrich Opposes DHS Funding Lacking Needed Reforms

Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández Statement on FEMA Announcement Regarding Hermit’s Peak Claims Office Leadership

E&E News: Senate Dems probe DOE using carbon capture funds to prop up coal

Albuquerque Journal: Luján, Heinrich vote against DHS funding

KTSM: Borderland lawmakers demand briefing on El Paso airspace closure

Source New Mexico: NM wildfire claims office director on ‘administrative leave’ following six-figure payout

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico's congressional delegates demand answers on El Paso airspace closure

Univision: Senadores demócratas denuncian 'crueldad' en el trato del gobierno a menores no acompañados

NOTUS: The Energy Department Is Failing to Meet Oversight Requirements, Congress’ Watchdog Says

The Eastern New Mexico News: $4M allocated to restore college's turbine

Heinrich Reiterates Demand for Secretary Noem to Resign Following DHS’ Lawlessness

Heinrich, Kaine, Cassidy, Curtis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Combat Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated Fishing by Foreign Countries