MLG got what she wanted from President Biden's weekend visit to Santa Fe in a short "see for himself" visit that had Air Force One fly over fire-stricken areas in northern New Mexico. But residents of the scattered villages impacted by the historic blazes still have to wait and see whether their lives will be made whole by Uncle Sam and Scranton Joe.

(Full Biden/MLG presentation here.)

Agreeing with MLG about the fires caused by a US Forest Service prescribed burn gone wrong, Biden announced that the feds would exempt the state from any costs for the emergency response and debris removal. However, a bill sponsored by TLF and BRL to provide assistance to compensate thousands of residents for damaged property and lost income is already in limbo, caught in the never-ending crossfire of DC polarization. 

(Full Biden/MLG presentation here.)

The predicament shines a light on the state's smallish congressional delegation of three US House members--all first-termers and two US senators--first-termer Ben Ray Lujan and second-termer Martin Heinrich.

If it were 20 years ago and GOP Sen. Pete Domenici was around there would be no question that the disaster funding bill for fire victims being supported by the delegation would be on its way. But with no GOP senator in the delegation and none with considerable seniority, it could take heavy-lifting to get the bill thru the senate where Biden noted he will need GOP support.

Domenici was a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee when the giant Cerro Grande fire (also caused by a Forest Service prescribed burn) struck Los Alamos in 2000. With Domenici heading the delegation, a disaster fund was soon approved and dispensing millions to afflicted New Mexicans. 

Today Sen. Heinrich is a member of appropriations but without the heft or seniority of Domenici and most important without much goodwill from Republicans because of the ongoing partisan rancor. 

The House is more friendly for fire relief, being controlled by the Democrats and having the support of southern GOP Congresswoman Yvette Herrell, the lone R in the state's CODEL.

There's a lot on the line and landowners in the North aren't waiting. They are already lawyering up. 

Concerned that they will be stiff-armed in their fight for relief, they have begun suing the US Forest Service.

Heinrich and company need the legal back-up. In a state with such a junior delegation and with an election approaching in which the GOP is in a frenzy to take out MLG, the politics of fire relief are thorny. 

Biden at KAFB

The optics were solid for the president's visit. He can't help being the decent, affable guy he is and in a humanitarian crisis that is comforting. 

MLG's studious presentation given along side him avoided overexcitement which is not always the case. She handled the event with aplomb and perhaps took another step toward erasing the uncomfortable images she created for herself when administering her anti-Covid decrees that got the GOP so fired up. 

A big score for the Guv was an hour long car ride alone with the President to Santa Fe. That's a lot of time to cover a lot of territory. Did it go well? 

Senator Ben Ray Lujan, felled by a serious stroke earlier this year, looked robust and engaged. We're told by Capitol Hill Alligators that the peripatetic 50 year old, previously no stranger to 80 hour work weeks, has shaved those hours as he works his way back to a full recovery. 

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland was among the greeting party for Biden when he landed Saturday afternoon at Kirtland Air Force Base. His appointment of the Native American to his cabinet was an historic first for the nation. Her presence was also a reminder that Haaland could be a powerful campaign presence for MLG come October. 

Rep. Herrell

It was rare to see Rep. Herrell sharing camaraderie with the delegation but there are fires blazing in her district too and her new district contains a healthy slice of ABQ that is dominated by Democrats. She needs to shed some of her edge to appeal to them. Working on the fires--as well as a bipartisan water bill with ABQ Dem Rep. Stansbury--is a start. 

Deep down, Herrell may want to eat her words and cancel her vote to not certify the 2020 election results showing President Biden was legitimately elected. She was among 147 House and Senate Republicans refusing to certify. But her presence with the President Saturday was a tacit admission that he won fair and square.

When it comes to walking back that vote she really can't without risking her GOP base. Instead she is trying to move past it. Here's what she had to say in a national interview when asked whether she had any regrets over the vote and what she thought of the congressional hearings into the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol:

Whether that pivot away from Trumpism and to the economy will sell on the campaign trail when she meets up with Democratic challenger Gabe Vasquez may be a pivotal moment.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.