SANTA FE, N.M. – In a swift response to President Donald Trump’s reductions in federal expenditure for Medicaid and nutrition initiatives, New Mexico lawmakers convened a special legislative session on Thursday to bolster funding for food aid and rural health services.

During this session, the Democrat-dominated Legislature approved a bill for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s consideration, allocating over $16 million to maintain food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and support food banks. This action comes as the federal government ceases SNAP eligibility for numerous noncitizens and adjusts benefit calculations for others.

“Ensuring that New Mexicans do not face hunger due to these federal SNAP changes is crucial,” stated Democratic state Sen. George Muñoz from Gallup.

Another $50 million would help sustain medical services at rural health clinics and hospitals that often rely heavily on Medicaid spending.

Republican legislators, forming the minority, unanimously opposed the spending measures, contending that the significant federal adjustments to Medicaid are distant and that New Mexico should prioritize addressing errors in benefit distribution instead.

Simultaneously, Democrats, alongside some GOP lawmakers, supported measures to sustain subsidies for health insurance in New Mexico’s Affordable Health Care exchange, should federal credits lapse. These federal subsidies are a central issue in the budget deadlock in Washington, which led to the federal government shutdown on Wednesday.

Although many of the federal health changes under Trump’s extensive legislation are not due to take effect until 2027 or later, New Mexico’s Democratic legislators admitted that their efforts offer only a temporary solution.

“Some of the most significant (federal) cuts are delayed a few years, and these are deeply significant,” said state Rep. Nathan Small of Las Cruces, lead sponsor of the spending bill. “I want to make sure that we’re all thinking of, not hundreds of millions, but billions of dollars of reduced Medicaid support to our state.”

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, supports major provisions of the bills, and she has the authority to veto any and all spending provisions.

Trump’s big bill is prompting urgent action in several Democratic states, but not in Republican ones.

Funding for food

New Mexico lawmakers approved a quick infusion of state spending on food assistance through SNAP for elderly recipients.

Nearly one-fourth of New Mexico residents receive food assistance through SNAP, making it a major line of defense against hunger.

Food banks statewide receive an $8 million bump in direct state support, under the bill. And $2 million is devoted to restocking food pantries at universities and public schools.

Trump’s big bill expands work and reporting requirements for SNAP participants, ends eligibility for many noncitizens, and changes benefit calculations.

Rural health care

Trump’s big bill sets aside $50 billion over five years for rural hospitals, providers and clinics — but that may not offset significant cuts.

The stakes are high in New Mexico, where about 38% of residents rely on Medicaid. And state lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats — are warning of a rural health care crisis as New Mexico struggles to retain medical professionals and keep clinics and hospitals open.

State Sen. Pat Woods, a Republican from the state’s sparsely populated eastern plains, co-sponsored changes to rural health care grants aimed at shoring up existing health care services at rural clinics and hospitals. A 64-3 vote of the House on Thursday sent the bill to the governor for consideration.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to fund and keep some of these clinics open. What’s going to happen in the future? Who the hell knows,” Woods told a panel of state lawmakers. “What I worry about is keeping these clinics and hospitals open until the dust settles.”

Subsidies for insurance

Legislators also voted to set aside $17 million to ensure subsidies don’t lapse on New Mexico’s Affordable Care Act exchange.

That initiative also would extend insurance subsidies to middle-income residents who whose earnings equal or exceed 400% of the federal poverty level — roughly $128,000 annually for a family of four.

Democratic state Senator Carrie Hamblen of Las Cruces said the insurance subsidies will help avoid a “perfect storm of unaffordability,” warning that rising insurance rates threaten to undermine participation in the exchange and make matters worse. State health official have warned that tens of thousands of residents might drop insurance coverage as exchange rates increase in 2026.

Separately, legislators approved $6 million in state funding for public broadcasting stations — including $430,000 for five tribal stations hit hard by the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by Congress and Trump. Approved federal grants to the stations for the current federal budget year were clawed back, under a bill signed by Trump in July.