“We’ve had steady and consistent growth in New Mexico since statehood, but from 2010 until 2016, we’ve been flat. That is historic.” – pollster Brian Sanderoff on a recent analysis looking at New Mexico’s slow population growth
The Crib Sheet is a collection of stories, events, and ideas that are shaping the conversation in New Mexico and D.C. politics.
[New Mexico]
- New Mexico lawmakers worked Monday on the so called “feed bill” that pays for the staff and operating expenses of the current legislative session. Democrats called the governor veto of an initial feed bill on Friday “reckless” and claimed the courts would not have the resources needed to operate properly.
- New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that union membership in New Mexico grew a tenth of a percentage point in 2016; across the country union membership was down four tenths of a percentage point.
- Education Secretary Hanna Skandera on Monday announced she will push for a 10 percent reduction in the weight student test scores have on a teacher’s evaluation. On a related note, last week a conservative think tank released a report that said New Mexico was among states that failed to “ensure that all teachers rated as effective have improved student learning.”
[D.C.]
- President Trump’s temporary travel restrictions caused an uproar that sparked demonstrations at the Albuquerque Sunport and other airports across the country. The President and his supporters say his actions have origins in and are similar to executive orders by President Obama, but critics argue those claims are misleading, with some of the harshest critics calling Trump’s actions “belligerent nationalism”. On Monday night President Trump fired his acting attorney general because she refused to defend his executive order and replaced the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- Silicon Valley is starting to worry Trump’s changes to visa programs could mean changes specifically to the H-1B visa program used by many of the Valley’s tech companies.
- In a meeting with small business owners, Trump called the Dodd-Frank financial reform law a “disaster” and promised to do “a big number” to the law. Trump’s immigration executive orders last Friday spooked investors and ended the Trump stock market rally “honeymoon” – the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 posted their biggest one-day declines of 2017. However, since Election Day the S&P 500 is up more than 6% while the Dow remains up around 8.8%.
- Trump plans to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court at 8 p.m. ET today. Predictably, liberal groups are planning an all out assault on the nominee.
- It was only last week that Russian interference in the election was the topic of conversation in D.C., but as this Foreign Policy piece makes clear Russia’s military buildup in the Artic is worth paying attention to.
[Tech & Strategy]
- Motherboard has a long read on Trump’s digital operation and its relation with prominent data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.
- The DCCC’s “highly aggressive strategy” for the 2018 midterms includes targeting two longtime Texas GOP incumbents. As expected the NRCC calls the plan a “pipe dream”.
