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Outgoing U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico tops a list for secretary of the Interior Department for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, according to a national news outlet. Also being considered is Democratic U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico and U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat and leader of the House committee on natural resources, according to Bloomberg News. The Interior Department oversees concerns crucial to the West and the nation, including grazing, parks and recreation, and oil and gas extraction on federal land. The agency also oversees coastal drilling, among other environmental concerns. A spokesman for...

WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Omar, along with U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) and a coalition of grassroots groups; labor unions; Black, Brown and Indigenous leaders from across the country to introduce a bold plan for economic renewal known as the Agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy, or THRIVE Agenda. In the Senate the resolution is led by Senator Markey, Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.), and...

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...

Senate Democrats introduced a constitutional amendment on Tuesday to undo the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision. A group of Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and progressive activists rallied outside the Supreme Court to unveil the amendment, which faces an unlikely path to being ratified. "Few decisions in the 200 and some odd years of this republic have threatened our democracy like Citizens United. People say they want to get rid of the swamp. Citizens United is the embodiment of the swamp," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at the rally. Schumer added that "overturning Citizens United...

Businessman Louie Sanchez remembers growing up in a trailer in the South Valley where he said he learned the value of hard work. It’s those working class roots he wants to emphasize when he launches a bid for the U.S. Senate on Monday. Sanchez will join a growing Republican field that includes former New Mexico State University professor Gavin Clarkson; anti-abortion advocate Elisa Martinez; and Albuquerque contractor Mick Rich in the race to replace Democrat Tom Udall, who is not seeking reelection to a third term. U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and accountant Andrew Perkins are seeking the Democratic nomination....

Most members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation reacted with ire to President Donald Trump’s drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a powerful commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, early Friday at Baghdad International Airport. Soleimani’s death was first reported by official Iranian media and confirmed by a news release from the Department of Defense that said Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN that Soleimani had orchestrated an “imminent” attack but would not elaborate where or when the attack was to take place. Sen....

Senators blocked an effort on Friday to restrict President Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran, handing a victory to Republicans and the White House. More than 40 have voted against the proposal from Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Tom Udall (N.M.), which would block the president from using funding to carry out military action without congressional authorization. Though the vote remains open, the opposition blocks the proposal from getting the 60 yes votes it needed to be added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a round of unusual procedural maneuvering, senators passed...

Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced on Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2020, leaving the Senate seat he has held since 2009 up for grabs. “I’m confident that we could run a strong campaign next year to earn a third term, because of all the work you and I have done together, along with my wife, Jill, and my incredibly dedicated staff," Udall said in a statement. “But the worst thing anyone in public office can do is believe the office belongs to them, rather than to the people they represent. That’s why I’m announcing today that I...

NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES SENATE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 4, 2019 Udall, Heinrich, Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Prevent President From Using Emergency Declaration to Raid Funds for Border Wall RAIDER Act of 2019 stops President Trump from bypassing Congress and raiding as much as $35 billion from military construction and disaster response funds for land acquisition or construction of his wall WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein...

We are told that Xochitl Torres Small is a traditional New Mexico Democrat like myself — one who loves hunting on our beautiful public lands.This wouldn’t be the first time that a campaign ad has tried to mislead us about a politician, of course, but it’s still insulting. Small is a lifelong liberal activist who has raised millions of dollars from out of state interests to brand herself as a moderate and win the race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in November, but her political record is simply too blue to hide behind a quick coat of purple paint. If you want...

Democrats are introducing a bill that would require the publication of visitor logs at the White House or any other place President Trump visits. The kicker is the bill's acronym is the MAR-A-LAGO Act, which is the name of Trump's resort in Palm Springs, Fla., where he has stayed on several weekends since becoming president. It stands for the "Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act."

Who will fact check the fact checkers?How about you and me?Take a PolitiFact story last week out of Iowa, where Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the current Republican front-runner as the state's Feb. 1 presidential caucus approaches. Earlier this month, Sen. Cruz told a Cedar Rapids crowd, "The Democrats in the Senate last year introduced a constitutional amendment to repeal the free speech protections of the First Amendment."Is this statement true or false?It's true.The constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and voted for by every Democratic Party U. S. Senator states, "Congress and the States may regulate and...

Twenty-seven senators want President Obama to block federal agencies and contractors from asking job applicants about prior criminal convictions. The senators, including 26 Democrats and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), want Obama to take executive action to "ban the box," referring to a question on job applications that asks if an applicant has any convictions. "We ask you to require federal contractors and agencies to refrain from asking job applicants about prior convictions until later in the hiring process," they said in a letter to Obama on Monday. "This policy would eliminate unnecessary barriers to employment for all job...

WASHINGTON – New Mexico's Senate race suddenly is on the radar screen, as new polls show the Republican candidate within single digits of incumbent Democratic Sen. Tom Udall. Most political observers had written off the contest as a slam dunk for Democrats. But a pair of new polls shows the race tightening in the final days. ADVERTISEMENT A new Vox Populi poll shows Udall up only 4 points over Republican Allen Weh. The poll puts Udall at 47 percent and Weh at 43 percent, with 11 percent of voters undecided. “The deteriorating national political environment for Democrats and President Obama...

The U.S. Senate race in New Mexico has flown under the radar for months as political handicappers have almost universally predicted an easy re-election for Democrat Tom Udall. But a new survey from the Albuquerque Journal suggests that the race may be tightening in its closing days. Fifty percent of state voters support Udall (pictured), and 43 percent favor his Republican challenger, Allen Weh. About 8 percent remain undecided. Udall holds key advantages over Weh with Hispanic voters (62 percent to 27 percent) and women (53 percent to 37 percent). Weh leads among men (49 percent to 46 percent) and...

While Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is on the ropes in his bid for re-election, his cousin, Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is now trying to fend off the momentum of retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Allen Weh, who is near or within the margin of error in the latest polls. Just a week ago, Udall led Weh by 16 points. Since then, an Albuquerque Journal survey shows a seven-point race (50-43) while a Vox Populi poll released Monday suggests a 47-43 Udall lead. Weh said another poll has the margin down to two percentage points, and there are good reasons for...

A scion of the Udall family is losing ground in this year’s Senate contest, but this time it’s Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico. The Democratic incumbent saw his once-formidable lead over Republican Allen Weh shrink in two polls released Monday. A survey taken by Research & Polling Inc. for the Albuquerque Journal has Mr. Udall ahead by 50 to 43 points, down from 51 to 38 percent in its mid-September poll.

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R) Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) Massachusetts Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D) Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R) Minnesota Senator Al Franken (DFL) South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns (R) South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D) Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) Kentucky...

The Talk Shows September 7th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): White House chief of staff Denis McDonough; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): McDonough; Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.; Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Peter King, R-N.Y., and Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif.FACE THE NATION (CBS): McDonough; Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., Justin Amash, R-Mich., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md.THIS WEEK (ABC): McDonough; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): McDonough; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Jim McGovern, D-Mass., Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif.,...

Thanks to Republican Senators Rand Paul (of Kentucky) and Mike Lee (of Utah), we might finally get on Syria what we were denied on Libya: a real debate among the American people’s representatives over congressional authorization of President Obama’s unilateral war-making in the Middle East. The Washington Examiner reports that Senators Paul and Lee have joined with two counterparts, Democrats Chris Murphy (of Connecticut) and Tom Udall (of New Mexico), in offering legislation that would block direct or indirect aid for military or paramilitary operations in Syria. The bill, which is posted on Paul’s website, is called the “Protecting Americans...