Nygren’s line-item veto sparks late-night budget standoff

WINDOW ROCK

The 25th Navajo Nation Council sat late into the night in Window Rock, debating why President Buu Nygren had cut millions from their budget with his line-item veto pen.

Some delegates rose to acknowledge him when he walked into the Chamber. Others stayed seated. Speaker Crystalyne Curley, the Council’s presiding officer, offered him a chair.

At that point, lawmakers had only days left before the fiscal year ended. On Sept. 25, starting at 3 p.m., they launched a marathon debate on restoring funding Nygren had vetoed – cuts that threatened dozens of Legislative staff assistants, whom delegates described as their essential “right hand” personnel.

With the Legislative Branch’s operating funds set to expire at midnight Tuesday, delegates said they still had not received word on whether Nygren would sign off on their emergency budget fixes.

The clash followed weeks of back-and-forth. The Council passed its $1.5 billion budget, CS-44-25, on Sept. 4. Nygren signed it on Sept. 15 but vetoed funding for 28 Legislative positions, more than $289,000 for the Navajo Nation Youth Council, and other programs. He said the cuts prioritized Executive needs and were meant to bring the Council back to the table.

Delegates called the vetoes illegal and destabilizing. They pressed Nygren during a Sept. 25 special session and again on Sept. 30. Curley said the vetoes “axed vital jobs and aid” and faulted the president for limited involvement in budget talks that began in March.

On Sept. 26, delegates introduced Resolution 0224-25, sponsored by Delegate Casey Allen Johnson, to amend the budget as an emergency. The measure funneled $4.7 million in general funds to 10 Executive programs, including $1.6 million for the Office of the President and Vice President, $1.9 million for the school clothing program, and smaller amounts for water resources, land, personnel management, community centers and workforce development.

Johnson again introduced Resolution 0225-25, which is on a five-day hold and corrects typos in 0224-25.

Johnson’s bill detailed OPVP spending: $53,158 for personnel, $524,579 for travel, $228,612 for supplies, and $142,000 for contractual services. The legislation noted OPVP was underfunded in the original budget.

Under Navajo law, the measure took effect immediately, ordering the Office of Management and Budget to update totals. But Nygren did not sign it, the Council stated in a release. Leaders urged quick action to avoid job losses.

On Sept. 27, the Council approved an emergency bill restoring $8.1 million to the Legislative Branch and rejecting Nygren’s vetoes as unlawful. As of Sept. 30, Nygren had signed neither measure, raising fears of a shutdown at the start of fiscal 2026.

During the Sept. 25 session, Budget and Finance Committee Vice Chair Carl Slater criticized President Buu Nygren’s office for seeking to raise its budget to $7.1 million, calling it “a 116.6% increase from fiscal year 23” and accusing the administration of “parachuting at the last minute” and creating chaos in the budget hearings.

Delegate Shaandiin Parrish, the chair of the Budget and Finance, said agency hearing data showed that the top public priorities were community development, public safety, and veterans’ services, while many respondents called for cuts to OPVP.

“According to the variance, you’re actually $1.1 million over budget already,” she told Nygren, adding that revenues are projected to decline by $10 million in fiscal 2027.

Delegate Brenda Jesus questioned OPVP’s high travel costs: “Do you really need $1.76 million, and where do you need all this money?”

Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton, the chair of the Law and Order Committee, accused Nygren of misinforming the public.

“If I were president of the Navajo Nation, I wouldn’t act like a king. I would be the CEO that the people elected me to be,” she said. She cited recent OPVP increases – from $3.2 million in 2023 to $5.5 million in 2026 – and urged lower salaries and stronger communication.

Nygren acknowledged the criticisms but said vetoes were his only option.

“That decision was not an easy decision,” he said Sept. 25. “My hope is that we get it done over the next five days. I know the resources are there to make it happen.”

He told Legislative staff to “keep your laptops, keep your phones,” expressing confidence that a deal would be reached.

He also noted his office had earlier received $283,000, most of it earmarked for a K-9 unit to support missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and said his team vetted amendments with divisions to avoid “asking for way too much.”

Vice President Richelle Montoya called the budget “a public trust.”

“It’s not my budget, it’s not Executive Branch budget, it’s not Legislative budget, it’s not Judicial budget – it’s the people’s budget,” she said.

Other delegates pressed Nygren on the veto’s impact.

Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty urged OPVP staff to meet with Legislative assistants to hear “the type of mental anguish that they went through when the line-item vetoes went out,” adding they should not be used as political pawns.

Jesus asked whether OPVP was duplicating services already covered by divisions and urged protecting employees with families.

As the deadline loomed, Nygren thanked the Council for funding the Judicial Branch and said he remained “hopeful all the way until September 30, at midnight” for an agreement.

“The main thing was just to come here and talk about the budget,” he said. “I’m very happy that you funded the judicial branch.”

But Curley said his arrival came late.

“We were waiting for your arrival since two weeks ago, during the fair, when we were considering the budget,” she said. “It’s been a very long budgeting process.”

With hours left before the fiscal year ended, dozens of staff jobs and branch operations remained in doubt.

Published Sept. 30, 2025     Updated Oct. 1, 2025
A correction was made on October 1, 2025: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Resolution 0224-25, sponsored by Delegate Casey Allen Johnson, was unanimously approved. It was introduced, not approved.

Published Sept. 30, 2025     Updated Nov. 14, 2025
A correction was made on November 14, 2025: An earlier version of this article misstated the reference to the office involved in a proposed budget increase. Delegate Carl Slater, the Budget and Finance vice chair, was referring to the budget request from President Buu Nygren’s office, not his own. Slater does not have an office budget.

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