Power struggle over the purse: Council seeks to restore cuts as Nygren pushes an emergency workaround

Posted by Donovan Quintero | Oct 9, 2025 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

A disagreement over how to fix the Navajo Nation’s 2026 budget has deepened into a standoff between Speaker Crystalyne Curley’s 25th Navajo Nation Council and President Buu Nygren.

At issue are two competing budget amendments, one backed by the Council and the other by the president. Both seek to change Resolution CS-44-25, which set the Nation’s $603.2 million comprehensive budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The Council approved CS-44-25 on Sept. 4 and sent it to Nygren for signature six days later. On Sept. 15, he signed the bill but used his line-item veto authority to remove funding for parts of the Legislative and Judicial branches.

Nygren said the Council had given itself too much money while leaving the Executive and Judicial branches underfunded. He said the vetoes were needed to restore balance.

“Zeroing out the operating budgets of our District Courts is a red flag,” Nygren wrote in his veto. “The courts are direct service providers to our most vulnerable people.”

He also said the Office of the President and Vice President did not receive enough operating funds to carry out its work.

The budget that reached his desk funded all three branches. The Legislative Branch received $19.9 million from the General Fund and Permanent Fund income. The Judicial Branch was given $19.2 million, including $14 million from the General Fund and the rest from Personnel Lapse and Permanent Fund accounts. The Executive Branch received $524.4 million to operate 18 divisions and departments.

Nygren said about $75 million remained unallocated – $65.2 million from the Permanent Fund and $10.4 million from Personnel Lapse funds – and that the Council could use that balance to fix funding gaps. He said he was ready to sign a follow-up resolution to create “an adequate FY 2026 Comprehensive Budget.”

To read the full article, please see the Oct. 9, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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