Fashion magazine, MS NOW celebrate MLG being NM’s freebie queen

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is being celebrated by left-wing media and fashion elites as a national “Power Mom” for turning New Mexico into a testing ground for taxpayer-funded progressive social programs.

Lujan Grisham announced this week that she has been named to Marie Claire’s 2026 “Power Moms” list, an honor bestowed by the fashion and lifestyle publication on women it says are “making a difference for women and children.” The governor is set to receive the award Thursday night at an event in New York City.

The recognition comes largely because of her push to make New Mexico the first state in the nation to offer so-called “universal child care,” a sweeping taxpayer-funded entitlement program she has repeatedly touted as a national model.

“What an honor to join Marie Claire magazine’s 2026 list of ‘Power Moms’ making a difference for women and children!” Lujan Grisham wrote on X. “When we empower women by helping them with child care everyone wins.”

The governor also thanked MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) personality Mika Brzezinski and the hosts of Morning Joe for highlighting New Mexico’s program in a glowing segment on Friday, where the panel praised Grisham for her progressive agenda.

Brzezinski gushed to the governor, “You’re on this list, again, for your determination in making New Mexico the first state in the nation to offer universal child care.”

Meanwhile, Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Nikki Ogunnaike applauded Grisham for “tak[ing] a stand for universal child care,” adding that the women honored this year are “reshaping the culture around motherhood.”

The magazine’s profile of Lujan Grisham, titled “Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Universal Child Care Whisperer,” portrays the governor as a trailblazer for building what it frames as a groundbreaking new welfare model.

Marie Claire praised her for using New Mexico’s oil and gas wealth to help balloon the state’s Early Childhood Trust Fund from $320 million in 2020 to $9 billion by 2024, providing the financial backbone for the program.

But the accolades come as the governor’s signature “freebie” program faces mounting legal and political trouble at home.

As previously reported first by Piñon Post, Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez recently scored an early courtroom victory against the administration after a district judge ordered the state to cease enforcement of several child care regulations tied to the program unless officials can justify them in court.

Rodriguez’s lawsuit alleges the administration unlawfully created the universal child care program without proper legislative authorization, without sufficient appropriation, and without following required rulemaking procedures.

The court’s Alternative Writ of Mandamus stated the challenged rules may have been enacted “without legislative authorization and without the necessary appropriation.”

That legal cloud has done little to stop national progressive media from celebrating Grisham’s agenda.

In addition to universal child care, Marie Claire highlighted several other taxpayer-funded initiatives championed by the governor, including:

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave for state employees
• Universal free school meals for K-12 students
• Plans to expand paid leave mandates further statewide

To supporters, Grisham is a progressive innovator. To critics, she is simply the latest Democrat governor using temporary oil and gas windfalls to build an ever-expanding welfare state while seeking praise from elite national media.

The irony, critics note, is that while New York media outlets celebrate New Mexico as a progressive policy laboratory, many working New Mexicans continue to struggle with rising crime, poor schools, and one of the nation’s worst poverty rates.

Nonetheless, in the eyes of Manhattan magazine editors and MS NOW hosts, Lujan Grisham’s legacy appears secure: New Mexico’s “freebie queen” is now a certified “Power Mom.”