Letters to the Editor (Nov. 13, 2025)

Why are New Mexico Republicans acting like this a normal shutdown?

Editor:

In a recent Facebook post echoed by other New Mexico House Republicans, Rebecca Dow stated that “NM senators need to vote to reopen the government” because prior to 2025 Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan have consistently voted yes on continuing resolutions.

This simplistic logic ignores the giant elephant in the room — this shutdown is not at all like prior shutdowns!

Trump’s authoritarian regime has hijacked our government and is now using the shutdown to further their agenda without any Congressional oversight.

Democratic checks and balances have been dismantled. Power is being consolidated in the executive branch with the increasing use of executive actions and illegal declarations of emergency powers. The Justice Department has been politicized. The U.S. Civil Service has been gutted.

Federal troops have been sent to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Memphis. The administration has just ordered the National Guard in every state to develop a “quick reaction force” of troops trained to deal with civil disturbances and riots, the latest indication of longer-term Trump administration plans to more readily dispatch soldiers to U.S. streets before the 2026 elections when voters might reject his policies.

Most importantly, the legislative branch has been neutered. This summer, the regime bullied congress into passing the One Big Beautiful Bill giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations while significantly cutting funds for Medicaid and making policy changes that reduce access to healthcare.

Then came the Rescissions Act of 2025 allowing the regime to further strip away Congress’ power of the purse.

Congress’ role in foreign and national security has also been marginalized. The extra-judicial killings in the Caribbean have been carried out without any congressional oversight.

To further complicate matters during this abnormal shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson is keeping the House out of session to avoid swearing in Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva. Grijalva has pledged to be the final yes vote needed to release the Epstein Files. Speaker Johnson has made it clear that the legislative branch of the government is no longer relevant to this administration.

This is not your father’s GOP and this is not a normal shutdown and voting yes for a clean CR will not help America.

Kelly Townsend

Bosque Farms

Why is this happening?

Editor:

Why are we in this situation? Why are children and families going hungry? For politics? For posturing?

This is not what we expected when we elected President Trump to office — again. We were told he was going to help Americans. He hasn’t.

He said he would lower grocery prices. He didn’t. He said we would be prosperous. He was wrong.

He said people would have plenty of jobs. They don’t. He said our economy would get better. It hasn’t.

He said he could end the war in Ukraine. He can’t.

He has signed hundreds of executive orders pushing his agenda. He has pardoned hundreds of felons — even those who were responsible for the tragic Jan. 6 insurrection on the nation’s capital.

This man is not right. This country is not right. We are in a state of shock every single day.

I just don’t understand why isn’t anyone — someone — standing up to this man. He’s a lame duck president, right? What do we have to do to take our country back?

Charles Garcia

Los Chavez