Gov. Susana Martinez has clashed with President Donald Trump, but she is not going to stand between her fellow Republican and the “big, beautiful” wall he has promised to build on the border with Mexico.
Several Democrats filed a bill to prohibit selling state land to the federal government for the purpose of constructing a wall along New Mexico’s 180-mile southern border. The state owns property along a 22-mile sliver of that boundary.
Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Susana Martinez
But, except for financial matters, it is up to the governor to place bills on the agenda for this year’s 30-day session.
Martinez on Wednesday told El Paso-based KVIA-TV that the bill will not be heard.
“I will not be an impediment, and I will not be part of the distraction with these low-level legislators in this state,” she said.
“The federal government, that is their mission, making sure that America is safe,” Martinez added.
In 2016, The Associated Press reported Martinez raised concerns with fellow Republicans about then-candidate Trump’s calls for building a wall on the border. Martinez said a wall could hurt the U.S. economy and the country’s relationship with its southern neighbor.
But Martinez has struck a more conciliatory tone with Trump over the last year.
How do the bill’s sponsors like being called “low-level?” Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Las Cruces, told KVIA-TV: “I’m sorry the governor feels she has to act like the president in insulting those of us who are trying to do their jobs and represent what the vast majority of New Mexicans believe in.”
This article comes from The Santa Fe New Mexican. NMPolitics.net is paying for the rights to publish articles about the 2018 legislative session from the newspaper. Help us cover the cost by making a donation to NMPolitics.net.