By Kevin Hendricks
In a pair of town hall meetings last week, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury issued a strong warning about the current state of American democracy, urging constituents to take action against what she describes as unprecedented challenges under the current administration.
Addressing a large audience in La Entrada Park in Corrales, Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat with a water resources and science education background, highlighted the nation’s critical threats, including the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk.
“I genuinely believe the most dangerous tool in Donald Trump’s arsenal right now is Elon Musk,” Stansbury said. “He’s the wealthiest man on earth and he has accumulated even more wealth since he came into the White House. He has unlimited money to spend. He can literally spend hundreds of millions of dollars in dark money to run elections, either for people he supports or against people he doesn’t.”
Stansbury, the ranking member of the DOGE Subcommittee on Oversight, spoke in Corrales after holding an earlier town hall in Placitas. Both events had a similar theme that democracy is under threat from the Trump administration and requires active defense from citizens and legal professionals.
“We, as Americans, are rebellious people,” Stansbury said. “We are seeing an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our institutions, our federal agencies and our federal workers, and New Mexicans are scared and frightened.”
Stansbury said the country’s resilience stems from its ability to challenge authority and continuously improve democratic institutions. However, she also expressed deep concern, especially for New Mexico, where she said federal funding cuts have hit local organizations, including programs at the University of New Mexico and immigrant rights groups. Stanbury said, “funds were being illegally impounded and that thousands of New Mexicans have been affected by job losses and program cancellations.”
“A lot of organizations in Albuquerque still have their funding frozen,” Stansbury said, adding that her office is working to restore these funds.
Immigration enforcement policies, tariffs, healthcare, and Social Security were also major topics of discussion. Stansbury criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies as unconstitutional and ineffective and highlighted the lack of federal support for border security in New Mexico. She also expressed concern over potential layoffs of 15,000 Health and Human Services employees and the threat to Social Security.
“Social Security is the thing that we will fight to the death to protect,” Stansbury said.
Stansbury repeatedly stated, “The house is on fire,” to convey the urgency and severity of the situation.
“This is a fire because of the speed, intensity and enormity of how fast, serious and careless this current administration is being in trying to achieve their policy goals, how they’re breaking laws norms and violating the separation of powers, and the ways in which the Republican controlled Congress has completely abdicated its responsibilities and rolled over for Donald Trump,” Stansbury said.
A defiant Stansbury urged constituents to raise their voices, contact their representatives and engage in electoral politics to address these issues. She also encouraged legal professionals to support court cases challenging the administration’s actions.
“We need an army of legal professionals to help the people who’ve been impacted,” she said.
Despite the slew of concerns shared by Stansbury and an emotional crowd, Stansbury concluded the town hall by expressing hope and resilience.
“I genuinely believe that we are going to not only save this democracy, but I think that even though the things that they’re doing are so destructive right now… we are going to survive.”