Hispanic caucus unhappy with transition team treatment of Lujan Grisham

Hispanic groups and lawmakers expressed surprise and some anger Thursday at how New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has been treated by President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team. Lujan Grisham was offered but rejected a Cabinet position as Biden’s Interior Department secretary, a transition team source told The Hill on Wednesday. Advocacy groups had been pushing her for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary. It’s possible the New Mexico governor is still in the mix for that position, particularly after Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo on Thursday publicly said she was no longer up for that role. But lawmakers and other supporters of Lujan Grisham expressed surprise that the Biden team would leak that she had been offered and rejected a different Cabinet role. “I'm just kind of confused, it throws all of us off,” said Paul Martinez, who serves on the board of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which had pushed for Lujan Grisham to get the HHS slot and were unaware she was being considered for Interior. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus “laid into the transition team” during a virtual meeting Thursday for the way Lujan Grisham was treated, according to a source familiar with the discussion. During the conversation, the transition committed to putting a Latina in a Cabinet role, the source said, though it’s unclear if it will be the New Mexico governor. Another source close to the caucus said members “were pissed” and that the Biden transition team did “a disservice not only to the caucus but to the governor.” “The feeling is that those leaks coming out of transition were an attempt to hurt the governor, and the caucus is not happy about it,” this source said, lamenting the limited number of Hispanic women being mulled for positions...Many were surprised to learn the Interior role had been offered to Lujan Grisham, with sources familiar with the department saying they had never heard Lujan Grisham was under consideration for the position...MORE

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LULAC was "unaware she was being considered for Interior."

And "sources familiar with the department saying they had never heard Lujan Grisham was under consideration for the position."

That seems odd, given that everyone knew that Rep. Haaland was being vetted for the job. See here and here . How likely is it  the vetting of a NM Rep. is widely reported, yet no one knew the NM Governor was being considered for the same position? Not the chief lobbying group supporting her on the national level, nor the reporters covering the beat, nor Interior insiders were aware. That is indeed odd.

What does MLG say about being a top contender for HHS secretary or turning down the post at Interior?

“Nobody has spoken to me about any job because I am in the job that can make the most difference,” she said.

Was she a top contender for the HHS post? Was she offered the job at Interior and turned it down? MLG says "nobody" has talked to her about "any" job. 

Also curious is one of the articles about her turning down the job at Interior has one of the Gov's spokesman saying she consulted with staff and friends about the lnterior position before deciding to turn it down. That paragraph has been mysteriously removed from the article.

Only one thing is for certain: The whole episode has been terribly mismanaged by all parties involved.