The New Mexico senator raised questions about reports involving Associate Deputy Secretary Karen Budd-Falen, grazing policy and a partial ethics waiver.

Organ Mountain News report

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich requested an ethics briefing from the U.S. Department of the Interior over reports involving a senior department official and potential conflicts of interest.

Heinrich, D-N.M., sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requesting that the department’s designated ethics official brief the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on actions by Karen Budd-Falen, the department’s associate deputy secretary.

“I am writing to express deep concern regarding reports that a senior official at the Department of the Interior may be involved in matters that present a conflict of interest,” Heinrich wrote.

Heinrich is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In the letter, Heinrich cited reporting by The Washington Post that Budd-Falen appeared to suggest during a December 2025 Congressional Western Caucus event that she had worked on policy matters related to grazing. Heinrich said those matters could benefit her immediate family.

Heinrich also cited Politico reporting that the department issued Budd-Falen a limited ethics waiver March 11 allowing her to work on certain matters of general applicability, including matters involving grazing leases or permits pending at the department.

The senator said Budd-Falen’s comments about grazing policy appeared to come before the waiver was issued.

Heinrich’s letter also cited New York Times reporting that Budd-Falen previously omitted information from financial disclosure reports while serving in the first Trump administration, including her family’s financial interest associated with a lithium mine approved by Interior.

“Ms. Budd-Falen’s statement and actions raise significant questions about her compliance with federal ethics laws and standards,” Heinrich wrote. “Public officials have an obligation to put the public’s interest ahead of their own.”

Heinrich asked Burgum to make the department’s designated ethics official available to brief the committee by June 22.