A state judge on Tuesday ordered Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration to pause New Mexico’s free, universal childcare program or present an argument for why the initiative should not be permanently halted.
Second Judicial District Judge Elaine Lujan issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez and other members of the GOP, which seeks to invalidate several rules expanding free childcare to all New Mexico families, regardless of income.
Rodriguez, who has argued the state jumped the gun by rolling out rules for the childcare assistance expansion before the Legislature approved funding for the initiative, celebrated the ruling Tuesday.
“Today’s order represents a victory for the New Mexico Constitution, for government transparency, and for the people of New Mexico,” he said in a statement.
Lujan Grisham slammed Rodriguez in a statement Tuesday evening on Facebook, calling him a “third-tier Republican candidate for governor — who lives in Arizona,” and describing his complaint as “frivolous” and a “despicable attempt to mislead New Mexico families and generate headlines for a campaign that is going nowhere.”
She said, “Universal child care is in effect and it is NOT being shut down, despite what this desperate candidate claims.”
The state has 30 days to contest the ruling and must appear for a court hearing June 11.
Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Early Childhood Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky and State Records Administrator Rick Hendricks were all named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Included as plaintiffs are state Sen. Steve Lanier, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate who was disqualified from the June primary ballot, and Rio Rancho businessman Zachary Anaya, who is running for the GOP nomination for a state House seat.
Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for Lujan Grisham, noted in an email the judge rejected Rodriguez’s request for the universal childcare program to be halted outright, instead giving the state an opportunity to argue its case.
He wrote in an email the judge’s order is a “routine response that allows the state to respond before the court takes any action.”
Gabriela Campos/New Mexican file photo
“Universal child care remains in effect and New Mexico families have no reason for concern,” Coleman wrote. “The New Mexico Legislature settled the legal question when it passed Senate Bill 241. The governor is confident the courts will agree and toss out this ‘controversy’ manufactured by a Republican political candidate.”
Lujan Grisham’s statement said, “New Mexicans should know this: A man who wants to lead this state made a calculated decision to scare working families — parents who depend on child care to hold down jobs, pay their bills, and build a future here — because he is losing and he knows it.”
Early Childhood Education and Care Department spokesperson Julia Sclafani echoed Coleman’s point that the judge’s ruling mainly gives the state a chance to fight Rodriguez’s lawsuit. The agency is actively working on a response, she noted, and is “confident the court will agree this case is without merit.”
“Universal Child Care is here to stay,” Sclafani wrote in an email. “… Families should rest assured that ECECD remains fully committed to protecting access to the services they need and rely on. The department will not waver in its mission to make quality child care accessible to families across New Mexico.”
Lujan Grisham announced plans to make the state’s childcare assistance program universally accessible in September 2025. The early childhood department proposed a number of new or amended rules shortly afterward. Among several changes, the agency dropped previous eligibility requirements for families and gave them “presumptive eligibility,” which makes it easier for applications for the benefit to be preapproved.
Lujan Grisham and lawmakers struck a deal, known as SB 241, during this year’s legislative session to draw up to $700 million for the program from the state’s now more than $11 billion Early Childhood Education and Care Fund over the coming five fiscal years.
Rodriguez’s lawsuit asks a judge to stop the state from enforcing rules directly related to expansion of eligibility to all New Mexico families, a section establishing families’ presumptive eligibility, language currently waiving copayments and other requirements.
The complaint argues the state moved forward with the new rules without legislative approval — specifically, funding for the initiative.
The lawsuit is the second challenge Rodriguez has filed against Lujan Grisham and her administration. The first, filed late last year, sought to invalidate the governor’s line-item vetoes on a spending bill passed during a special session in the fall. The New Mexico Supreme Court tossed that lawsuit.
Leah March, another spokesperson for Lujan Grisham, wrote in an email to The New Mexican earlier this month Rodriguez’s lawsuit related to the childcare expansion “demonstrates that Mr. Rodriguez misunderstands how state government works.”
Rodriguez shot back Tuesday, saying he does understand the process. He argued the way Lujan Grisham’s administration rolled out the childcare program demonstrates not that New Mexico is a poor state, but a “poorly managed state.”
“I filed this suit because New Mexicans deserve more from their government,” Rodriguez wrote. “With the court’s order in hand, the Governor can now do the right thing and start over, or she can continue to create chaos for families.”