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Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) returned to the nation’s capital on Thursday and announced his plans to return to the Senate floor “soon” after recovering from a stroke. “Through the love and support from my family, medical team, and New Mexicans, I’m getting stronger each day in D.C. where I’m completing my recovery,” Lujan tweeted. “I’m thankful for the well wishes from folks across the country. I’m back at work and will return to the Senate floor soon.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — With elections in view and Democrats’ headline domestic bill in a rut, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer have very different takes on how things are going in their chamber. “I know we’re spending the week dealing with assistant secretaries of something or other, and that’s terribly important,” Sanders, the progressive firebrand and Vermont independent, said dryly on Wednesday. The Senate confirmed 15 nominees last week for the Federal Maritime Commission, judgeships and other posts. For some Democrats, it’s time to draw contrasts with Republicans by forcing votes on priorities like helping families afford health care and...

New Mexico's main transparency group is urging U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and his staff to release more information about his health following a stroke two weeks ago.Why it matters: Luján is notoriously private, but a lack of health updates is making some New Mexico Democrats nervous about the future of his seat in a 50-50 Senate. Driving the news: The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said in a statement Tuesday that state residents have been "left confused and concerned" about the lack of information from the senator’s office."While all of us respect the family’s wishes for privacy...

Last week, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery. He is currently hospitalized in Albuquerque. He is expected to return to the U.S. Senate in four to six weeks, assuming there are no further medical complications. However, during his absence, Democrats no longer have a majority in the Senate—Republicans have a 50-49 majority. This means that until Luján returns, a united GOP can block the Democrats’ agenda and there’s nothing the Democrats could do about it. This is actually a big deal. In addition to blocking the Democrats’ legislative agenda, Luján’s absence could potentially impact...

WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ fragile hold on the Senate majority became vividly apparent Wednesday with the sudden illness of New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who won’t be back to work for at least four weeks, throwing President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court pick and lagging legislative agenda in doubt.

One America News (OAN) and Newsmax are backing Joe Biden’s far-left, radical pick for FCC commissioner, Gigi Sohn, despite the fact that she and the organization she co-founded have called for the blacklisting of conservative broadcasters — including OAN. Gigi Sohn has made a number of public statements that should alarm conservatives. She has called for the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, a conservative-owned network of local broadcasters, to be stripped of its license. She has called for an investigation into Fox News, which she has called “dangerous to our democracy” and “state-sponsored propaganda.”

It’s not a secret that many conservatives have qualms about Fox News. That’s not to say their primetime lineup isn’t still largely appealing, specifically Tucker Carlson’s top-rated show, but past editorial and hiring decisions have left some scratching their heads.In that current media environment, conservative alternatives like Newsmax and One American News Network have emerged, with the former gaining the most success recently. Meanwhile, OANN is battling behind the scenes to gain an advantage over Fox News, but they may have pushed things too far, if a new report is any indication.According to The Washington Free Beacon, OANN has been...

President Joe Biden’s pro-censorship nominee to the Federal Communications Commission is heavily connected to liberal billionaire George Soros. Tech on the Rocks Podcast host Gigi Sohn, who has a documented history of left-wing bias against conservative media, is co-founder and former President of the leftist group Public Knowledge, which “has long sought more government control of the internet and media,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Influence Watch reported that Public Knowledge is a “staunch supporter of expanded regulations on internet businesses and technology companies, backing so-called ‘net neutrality’ regulations against internet service providers.” Soros’s Open Society Foundations funded Public...

Senate Commerce Republicans are whipping opposition to the nomination of Gigi Sohn, one of President Joe Biden’s picks for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Biden nominated Sohn, former FCC counsel under Tom Wheeler and Ford Foundation alum, to an empty spot on the commission in late October, along with current acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to the permanent position. While Republicans have been quiet in their response to the nomination of Rosenworcel, many are pointing to Sohn’s public statements on conservatives as reasons to oppose her confirmation. “Ms. Sohn is another radical leftist that President Biden is seeding his administration with,”...

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Republican leadership members that he had been informed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that they were instituting a 25-House member cap for the State of the Union address, Axios reported, citing two sources. McCarthy said on Tuesday that he was informed of the 25-House member cap by Pelosi, which reportedly upset Republican leaders, including the House GOP leader himself, Axios reported.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A statewide holiday on Election Day to encourage voting. Automated restoration of voting rights for ex-convicts. More time to distribute and count absentee ballots. Democratic lawmakers have a lengthy wish list in New Mexico as they seek to expand access to voting. Here are the key changes sought by Democrats and counterpoints from opponents. State Democrats want to increasing voter access by turning Election Day into a state holiday, closing public schools and nonessential government offices for the day. A monthlong period for early, in-person voting would be extended to the Sunday before elections, when...

KEY POINTS: New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, 49, is in the hospital after suffering a stroke and undergoing surgery, his office said. Lujan, a Democrat, is “expected to make a full recovery,” his chief of staff, Carlos Sanchez, said in a statement. Lujan’s recovery and presumed absence from Washington could complicate Democrats’ efforts to quickly appoint a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. ***************************************************************************** New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan suffered a stroke last week and underwent brain surgery, his office revealed Tuesday. Lujan, a Democrat, is currently hospitalized and is “expected to make a full recovery,”...

The Directors Guild of America is urging the Senate Commerce Committee to reject Joe Biden’s nominee to the FCC, citing Gigi Sohn’s past stances on copyright. The committee was scheduled to take up Sohn’s nomination on Wednesday, but it will be postponed because of the absence of Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), whose office announced that he suffered a stroke. He is expected to make a full recovery... In confirmed, Sohn would give Democrats a majority in the FCC, giving them the votes needed to restore net neutrality rules or take a harder line against media concentration. But industry lobbyists,...

SANTA FE, N.M. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján is currently being hospitalized after experiencing a stroke last Thursday morning. According to his chief of staff, Carlos Sanchez, Luján was experiencing dizziness and fatigue and checked himself into Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Santa Fe. He was later transferred to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque. “Sen. Luján was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance. As part of his treatment plan, he subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling," Sanchez said. We talked to KOAT health expert Dr. Barry Ramo to better understand precisely what...

News of Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s (D-N.M.) stroke sent shockwaves through the Senate on Tuesday, underscoring the fragility of Democrats’ 50-50 majority. Democrats are in the majority because they have 50 seats and the ability for Vice President Harris to break a tie. Luján’s absence leaves them at 49 seats until he returns, with his office saying he’s expected to make a full recovery. “It's just a reminder that in a 50-50 Senate any unexpected development could be a challenge to our moving forward on an agenda that the Democratic caucus shares,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who said he...

Democratic New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan was hospitalized on Thursday, Jan. 27 due to a stroke, a top aide announced.

New Mexico’s junior senator, Democrat Ben Ray Luján, knows the state has a double standard for politicians. He continues to exploit it. With Luján, everything is about money. His abiding interest is collecting cash for his campaigns. The senator and his handlers sent a solicitation last week with the hackneyed headline, “Dialing for dollars?” Luján’s message was worse than the title. It stated: “We have fallen behind on our fundraising goals for our upcoming FEC fundraising deadline. This is a real problem, which could endanger everything we’ve worked so hard to build over the last few years. “Instead of pulling...

On Friday, after U.S. Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti blasted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her cousin, Ben Ray Luján for their actions banning in-person campaigning, Ben Ray distances himself from Lujan Grisham, claiming they two are not related. Luján tweeted, “While I respect my friend, our governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, we’re not cousins. This may come as a surprise to you, but not all Hispanic people with the same last name are related.” It appears Luján was trying to claim Ronchetti thinks every Hispanic with the last name “Luján” is related for linking the two together. Lujan Grisham also commented...

The ask from Phillip was simple: I will watch from the parking lot with my wife and our four children if we must, but please let my sister-in-law, her family, and my parents bury my brother. At noon on Thursday, the Velasquez family followed Joseph’s casket out of French funeral home in Albuquerque, New Mexico on its way to meet the escort. Draped in the American flag and on the side of the volunteer biker’s chopper hearse, he’s a hard man to miss even aside from the police honor guard — and before the long line of motorcyclists waiting on...