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New Mexico State Republicans Are Moving Forward With Their Plan to Impeach Governor

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 20, 2023 9:00 AM

This article has been updated to include responses from the governor and state Rep. John Block. 

Earlier this month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) announced an unconstitutional gun ban for 30 days in Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County.  Following a loss in the courts, she was forced to amend that order, but that doesn't mean all has been forgiven. Far from it. State Reps. John Block and Stefani Lord, both Republicans, raised the option of impeachment immediately following the order, and they're still moving forward with it. 

On Tuesday morning, Block and Lord released a certificate form for state lawmakers to sign that calls for an extraordinary session so as to impeach the governor. "The U.S. Constitution is absolute and designed to protect the rights of the people against tyrannical decisions like Governor Lujan attempted to do," said Lord in a statement.

While taking a question from a reporter at the time the order was announced, the governor had claimed that "no constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute."

As Block's post mentions, a website, ImpeachMLG.com, has been launched with options for people to sign a petition calling on Grisham to resign, encouraging Democratic members to sign on, and to offer financial support. There are also "Impeach MLG" and "Come and Take It" products for sale.

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State Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, a Republican who represents the 35th district, shared in reply the certificate that she herself has already signed.

As the certificate for state senators reads, which is addressed to the governor:

I, _______ a member of the NEW MEXICO SENATE, hereby certify that, in my opinion, an emergency exists in the affairs of the State of New Mexico and that it is necessary for the legislature to convene in extraordinary session to convene a committee of the House of Representatives to investigate conduct related to the issuance of Executive Order 2023-130 and the public health order issued on September 8, 2023 and for the purpose of determining appropriate action pursuant to Article 4, Section 35 and 36 of the Constitution of New Mexico. I request that you convene the legislature in extraordinary session within five days of your receipt of a sufficient number of signatures pursuant to the provision of Article 4, Section 6 of the Constitution of New Mexico.

Members also sign and date certificate and put down the district they represent. 

Impeachment might not seem like the easiest feat, as Democrats control not only the governorship in New Mexico, but both chambers of the state legislature as well. However, so blatantly unconstitutional and unpopular was Grisham's order that she lacked support from even key Democrats. This includes the Albuquerque mayor, the Bernalillo County sheriff, and the state attorney general.

Block's statement also issued a key reminder about what's at stake if the governor's actions are allowed to go unpunished. "We are taking formal steps for Gov. Lujan Grisham's impeachment because her despotic actions violated her oath and put every single New Mexican in danger," he said. "We must nip this governor's lawlessness in the bud, which is why we have led the charge since day one to see the governor impeached. We musn't fail in this effort, or else every petty tyrant across the land will use Lujan Grisham's illegal actions as precedent to seize more power by trampling on Americans' rights."

Grisham announced the gun ban as "an emergency public health order." The governor had also issued and extended such orders during the COVID pandemic. As others have pointed out, including Larry Behrens in a Tuesday column for Townhall, the concern is quite real that so-called orders could be declared due to climate alarmism as well.

Although as of Wednesday morning the governor has yet to have post about the order in several days, a spokesperson did provide a statement to local news outlet KOB 4.

"It is unsurprising but disappointing that Republicans in the state are choosing to use this time to orchestrate a political stunt instead of coming up with solutions to protect all New Mexicans. With less than 120 days until the start of the session, now is the time to focus on drafting comprehensive legislation to stem the epidemic of gun violence in the state," the statement read. 

Block provided a response to Townhall about the reality of efforts from him and his colleagues. "The governor still lives in a world of delusion as crime ravages New Mexico. Despite dozens of Republican bills proposed to fight crime in the state, every one of these died at the hands of her allies in the Legislature," he shared. "She has had five long years to fix this catastrophe, and the people aren’t buying her desperate attempts to blame the GOP when Democrats hold the governorship, majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, and every single seat on the state Supreme Court," he continued, pointing out how the political reality in New Mexico makes it unfeasible to blame Republicans. 

While Grisham was once posting about the gun order multiple times a day--doubling down on it as she called out not only Republican members like Block, but even fellow Democrats, like California's Rep. Ted Lieu--she hasn't posted about the order since she was forced to amend it last Friday. Instead, the governor has taken to posting about her trip to Taiwan and wishing New Mexicans a Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month and a Happy Rosh Hashanah.