It could have been the most triumphant week of her political career but it turned into one of the bleakest as MLG's pursuit of a cabinet seat in the Biden administration came to a close. But at least it's finally over. 

The Biden camp says California Attorney General Xavier Becerra will be be named to the post that Lujan Grisham coveted, Secretary of Health and Human Services. That will put an end to the damaging back and forth over MLG and also put a Hispanic in the slot, satisfying a key Dem interest group. 

It was made clear Sunday by the Biden camp and MLG that she will not be joining the Biden cabinet in any capacity. For New Mexico that means the Governor is in place for the next two years and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales can quit measuring the drapes on the Fourth Floor. 

A New Mexican in the Biden cabinet is still a possibility. The hope of retiring Sen. Tom Udall to snag Interior remains alive, if diminished. The boomlet to place ABQ Congresswoman Deb Haaland at Interior has deflated.

MLG's foray into national politics will come with a price, opined one veteran Dem leigslator. 

National media of a variety of persuasions reported that the key moment came when MLG was offered the position of Secretary of Interior instead of the HHS spot she wanted and she rejected the offer. 

In an interview Friday the Governor did not exactly shoot that down. Asked if she was offered Interior, she replied:

But media reports were careful to say their sources informed that it was the Biden staff--not Biden--who made the Interior offer. 

Staff discontent in dealing with MLG--a forceful executive but known for not always playing well with others--appeared to close the door on her. 

As many have said the Interior offer seems bizarre since New Mexicans Tom Udall and Deb Haaland have been prominently mentioned as possibles. But the insistence of the media reports and MLG opting not to shoot down the speculation, indicates an Interior offer was indeed made. 

Speculation that the offer may have been a loyalty test to see if she would take a job she did not prefer is not to be discounted. Nor is the speculation that Biden staffers hoped and anticipated her rejecting the Interior offer so they could then throw her overboard.

Machiavellian politics are a well-practiced art along the banks of the Potomac. The full story perhaps when someone writes a book. 

It's not all bad news for the Governor. In fact, there is some very good news for her making the rumor mill rounds. Insiders report that GOP Chairman Steve Pearce, who is expected to easily win another term as chairman today when GOP Central Committee delegates meet, is now testing the waters for another Guv run in 2022. "He's been putting out feelers in oil country," said one of our Alligators. MLG will surely root for Pearce's nomination. She trounced him 57 to 43 percent in 2018.   

And locally: 

The New Mexico doctors, nurses and associated medical personnel fighting this pandemic are rendering heroic service. They will not be forgotten.

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