Politics

On the first day of the 24th Navajo Nation Council’s 2021 winter session, Speaker Seth Damon was re-elected to a second two-year term.

The battle between the president’s office and the Navajo Nation Council over the rollout of Naat’áanii Development Corp.-Molina Healthcare’s Indian Managed Care Entity continued this week as President Jonathan Nez and Speaker Seth Damon issued dueling news releases and accusations as the initiative was put on hold by the state of New Mexico.

Normally, the entire staff of the Navajo Nation Washington Office would have walked the half-mile from their office near Union Station to the U.S. Capitol to watch the inauguration of a new U.S. president.

Throughout the pandemic, Naat’áanii Development Corp. has been working with the state of New Mexico to finalize plans for the implementation of the NDC/Molina Healthcare Indian Managed Health Care Entity, passed by Council in January of 2020.