The New Mexico Department of Justice has reclaimed roughly $12 billion in federal funding, restoring critical support for schools, health care programs, and infrastructure projects across the state.
The breakthrough came after judges in several multi-state lawsuits granted temporary relief from a freeze imposed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Since January, the department’s Impact Litigation Division has been fighting to keep federal dollars flowing to New Mexico as part of a series of legal challenges against budget cuts and agency reorganizations that threatened to cancel grants outright.
Deputy Counsel Anjana Samant told members of the Legislature’s Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee this week that the restored funds include more than $50 million for the Public Education Department, $59 million in pandemic-era public health grants, and $18 million for electric vehicle infrastructure projects. Without court intervention, she warned, much of this money would have been lost permanently.
“These rulings have allowed schools to move forward with the 2025–26 academic year,” Samant said, adding that many districts had been preparing for hiring freezes, program cuts, and delayed services while waiting for word on the funding.
The education grants are expected to bolster programs for English learners, literacy, teacher training, and after-school initiatives, which local administrators say are essential to meeting student needs.
Despite the magnitude of the legal victories, the Impact Litigation Division is operating with just five attorneys.
Samant urged lawmakers to approve $3.2 million in additional funding during the 2026 legislative session to expand the team’s capacity and maintain oversight over federal grants.
“To say we are at capacity is an understatement,” she said.
Lawmakers from both parties appeared receptive to the request.
“For a few million dollars, an office of four or five people has saved the state several billion,” said Senator William Soules, Democrat of Las Cruces and co-chair of the subcommittee. “That’s a good deal for taxpayers.”
The litigation is part of a broader wave of legal challenges by New Mexico and other states over federal funding policies and budget freezes. In recent months, the state has joined more than 20 multi-state lawsuits aimed at blocking measures that could limit federal grants or change how states administer them.
Officials emphasized that swift legal action was key to avoiding service disruptions and financial shortfalls. Without these rulings, they said, schools, hospitals, and public projects across New Mexico would have been forced to scale back or shut down entirely.
