Texts show Nygren pressing to unlock p-cards while McCabe says there is no budget

CANYON POINT, Utah

Friday, Oct. 3, iMessages between President Buu Nygren and Controller Sean McCabe show a disagreement over reactivating purchase cards while parts of the government lacked an operating budget.

The messages are real. The screenshots taken on Oct. 3 were initially shared with various Council delegates, Ethics and Rules and Michelle Espino, the chief legislative counsel, according to a Navajo Times investigation. The screenshots then appeared on Delegate Carl R. Slater’s Substack newsletter The Clique on Oct. 11. The screenshots were later removed and the page returned not found.

What the screenshots show

In the screenshots, Nygren reports that his purchase card is locked and asks that it be unlocked quickly. McCabe replies that he cannot do that because there is no operating budget. He states that Council cards are also turned off.

Nygren asks that cards be turned on within an hour and references available balances of $250,000 and $33,000. McCabe responds that a budget transfer is required first and that it cannot be taken from the canine unit or workers compensation.

The exchange shows conflicting statements about which offices had spending authority. McCabe states that Council cards are off and later adds that his office and the Judicial Branch are also off along with programs without operating budgets. Nygren states that only Council lacks an operating budget.

Paper trail from Oct. 6

Documents from the Office of the President and Vice President show that on Oct. 6 the office requested reactivation of its operational and travel procurement cards. The memo from Marisha Little, an executive staff assistant, notes that any reactivation is contingent on an approved operating budget and lists contact information for the Executive staff assistant and the chief of staff, Kris Beecher. A concurrence line bears Beecher’s signature dated Oct. 6.

Records from the Office of Management and Budget on the same day show a budget revision request for the Office of the President and Vice President in the amount of $229,451. The form moves money from contractual services into operating lines for travel, supplies, lease and rental, communications and utilities and special transactions. The listed amounts include $98,800 for travel, $7,500 for supplies, $1,000 for lease and rental, $10,551 for communications and utilities, and $111,600 for special transactions. The justification states that the move is temporary to allow general operating for up to three months.

The OMB review shows the request was approved and posted on Oct. 6. It lists an OPVP balance of $5,521,061 with 15% spent and notes a missing third-quarter performance report, adding that a memo on the issue would be sent to the branch chief and oversight committee. Signature lines show the deputy chief of staff, Heather Duncan, and Beecher signing on Oct. 6. A budget signature authorization form for fiscal 2026 lists Duncan as the person authorized to initiate budget revisions for the office and shows Beecher as the approving official dated Oct. 6.

The documents establish a timeline in which the president’s office processed a budget transfer and requested card reactivation on Oct. 6, then the text message exchange occurred later as the controller maintained that reactivation could not proceed without lawful transfers and an operating budget in place.

McCabe references in the texts a memo addressed to the president, Speaker Crystalyne Curley and interim Chief Justice Eleanor Shirley that explains which cards were shut off and why. He states that the memo was also sent to Beecher and the division directors. Nygren responds that he was not told and that Beecher was not aware of the memo. Nygren states that he met with the Office of Management and Budget and indicates that a new directive could be issued. McCabe states that decisions are documented and repeats that the restrictions remain in place without lawful transfers.

The screenshots contain profanity from the president. They also show McCabe saying he will return calls after a meeting and restating that he is following formal budget process.

Lawmakers’ reaction

Delegate Shaandiin P. Parrish, the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, said she had no specific comment on the text messages but reiterated her position that the president must be accountable for his actions and that the controller serves as an independent financial officer within the checks and balances of government.

“I have no specific comments on those text messages, but I think what I have said about how the president needs to be held accountable and he needs to take responsibility for his actions, it is posing a financial risk to the Nation, especially because the controller is an independent part of our government that is a part of these checks and balances,” Parrish said in an interview on Sunday.

She added that “there’s a reason why the controller is appointed by the president and serves at the pleasure of the Council is because the controller can’t be biased. The attorney general is not supposed to be biased either, but we’ve seen several attorneys general removed.”

Curley said on Monday, Oct. 13, that if the messages are verified the language is alarming and falls short of the standards of the OPVP. She said many Diné support the Council’s steps to hold the president accountable and that chapters are voicing disapproval of the administration. She said the president referred to Council delegates as “scum bags,” which she said is beneath the office and displays weakness in leadership.

Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton, the chair of the Law and Order Committee, said elders teach that “words are sacred.”

She said that if the thread is authentic, it shows Nygren treated McCabe as the controller after McCabe’s July resignation, which contradicts the claim that McCabe is no longer the controller. “McCabe is and always has been our controller,” Charles-Newton said on Monday morning, adding that McCabe followed his professional duties “to be truthful to his clients” and “to our Navajo people.”

Background, broader context

Background materials obtained by the Navajo Times state that committee work this month centered on purchase card controls, midyear transfers and the independence of the controller’s office. The materials note questions from investors and bond managers after reports that the controller lost access to the financial system and that there were disputes about the timing and documentation for designating an acting controller.

The same materials describe discussion about when purchase cards for the president were authorized and whether a designation letter for an acting controller was in place at that time. They also reference the speaker’s injunction filing on the use of line-item veto authority.

Background materials further state that single audit findings for fiscal 2024 are expected to gather a range of issues and that committee members planned to review those results. The materials add that the situation has raised concerns about financial reputation and stability that could affect outside stakeholders.

The content of the messages aligns with the broader budget dispute under way this fall. The Western Navajo Agency Council has passed resolutions supporting restoration of funding for the Legislative and Judicial branches and calling for investigation into Executive Branch spending decisions.

McCabe and Slater, the vice chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, declined to comment on Sunday night. Nygren and Beecher had not responded as of Monday, Oct. 13, morning.

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