By: Gillian Barkhurst
No New Mexicans were denied Medicaid or SNAP benefits during the federal funding freeze enacted by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to staff from the New Mexico House of Representatives — but millions in federal funds were missing from state accounts until Wednesday.
The Office of Management and Budget memo that instructed agencies to pause federal loan and grant distribution was rescinded Wednesday after being temporarily blocked by a federal judge. The memo sent agencies across the nation into a panic as portals for social services went down and funding for other programs was withheld.
Until Wednesday, $40 million in federal funds were missing from the accounts of the New Mexico Health Care Authority, the primary state agency that runs Medicaid, according to NMHCA spokesperson Marina Piña. The funding was expected Monday and ultimately secured by the state Wednesday afternoon.
New Mexico’s all-Democratic congressional delegation vocally opposed the Office of Management and Budget memo Tuesday, citing the wide-ranging effects freezing federal grants and loans could have on disaster recovery, infrastructure projects and homelessness services.
“Most people voted for cheaper eggs. They did not vote for this chaos,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said during a news conference criticizing the memo with Democratic Senate leadership Wednesday morning.
Medicaid portals that agencies use to access federal funding were locked down in all 50 states for part of Tuesday. The New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a law enforcement program meant to target the flow of fentanyl, also could not access its federal funds Tuesday, he said, and pueblos were locked out of federal housing funding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency could not confirm for him whether funds for disaster relief in New Mexico were still paused as of Wednesday morning, Heinrich said.
In Santa Fe, state lawmakers are preparing for what’s next.
“I think that it’s this body’s job and the Legislature’s job to protect institutions …that protect our people and make sure that they can live full and healthy lives as New Mexicans,” Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, said during a House Appropriations and Finance Committee hearing about the funding freeze.
In the event of another lapse in federal funding, Silva asked staff what the state’s options are.
In the short term, the state can front the costs usually paid for by the federal government to ensure New Mexicans still get the services they need, said Director of the Legislative Finance Committee Charles Sallee. But should another pause happen, the fate of New Mexico’s federally funded social services isn’t so certain.
“I don’t think over a long period of time, we could sustain fronting the federal funds for all of these different programs for a very long time with the General Fund,” Sallee said.
Follow Gillian Barkhurst on X and Bluesky. Albuquerque Journal staff writer Cathy Cook contributed to this report.
This story was published in the Albuquerque Journal as part of a collaboration between the Albuquerque Journal and UNM’s Statehouse Reporting Project.
Gillian Barkhurst is a student at the University of New Mexico pursuing a Bachelor of the Arts in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication, with a minor in Spanish. Her work has been published in the Albuquerque Journal, Limina: UNM Non-Fiction Review, the Daily Lobo and New Mexico News Port. Gillian is currently a staff writer at the Albuquerque Journal.
