While all three of New Mexico’s representatives, all Democrats, voted against President Donald Trump’s domestic policy megabill, dubbed the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” local Republicans were showing support for the reform package that “puts Americans first.”
U.S. Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger Fernández, Gabe Vasquez and every other House Democrat voted against the bill. Stansbury voted “hell no,” but it still narrowly passed the House with a 215-214 vote early Thursday after 29 straight hours of debate.
Amy Barela, Chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said the passage of the legislation is “a historic package of reforms.”
“This is a great day for the American people and a shameful one for the Democrat politicians who turned their backs on the very people they claim to represent,” Barela said. “The Republican-led House just passed the most transformative legislation in a generation — tax cuts, wage increases, border security, military support, energy independence, and historic savings for taxpayers. And not a single Democrat Legislator stood with us — including those from New Mexico.”
Stansbury called the bill a “shameful package” that will “strip millions of veterans, working families, and children of access to healthcare and food assistance to provide permanent tax breaks to billionaires.”
The proposed legislation would extend the 2017 tax cuts, increase military spending and border security funding, and allocate funds for mass deportations. It also aims to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay, fulfilling campaign promises.
The bill includes significant spending cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), rescinds clean energy tax credits from 2022 and raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
“Nearly 14 million Americans will lose access to healthcare, 18 million children will lose access to food assistance and school meals, and millions of seniors will be impacted by cuts to Medicare,” Stansbury said. “This is not what the American people voted for and the GOP knows it.”
The RPNM praised the Big, Beautiful Bill for delivering tax cuts, wage increases, permanent border security measures, protection of taxpayer-funded benefits, pay raises and improved benefits for military personnel, reversing Biden-era mandates on “taxpayer-funded gender ideology,” overhauls to air traffic control, defense modernization, and a massive investment in energy and agriculture.
“This is what leadership looks like. This bill puts Americans first — not special interests, not foreign nationals, and certainly not radical ideology,” Barela said. “New Mexicans deserve representatives who will vote for their pay raises, their border safety, and their tax relief. Unfortunately, Democrats in the NM delegation chose party politics over practical solutions.”
The bill now heads to the Senate, which is controlled 53-47 by Republicans.
“We now look forward to the Senate doing what the people deserve — pass this bill and send it to President Trump’s desk,” Barela said. “The Republican Party of New Mexico stands fully behind this effort to put American workers, families, and values first.”
