FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: 1/7/2026
CONTACT: [email protected]
Allows the Trump Administration to Shortchange Arizona Rural Hospitals
FLAGSTAFF, AZ —Jonathan Nez, candidate for Arizona’s Second Congressional District and the former President of the Navajo Nation, issued the following statement in response to Eli Crane failing to bring home critical funding for Arizona rural hospitals.
Crane signed a letter in November asking the administration to prioritize Arizona for Rural Health Transformation Program funding, but Arizona ultimately received the 6th lowest allocation of any state.
Statement from Jonathan Nez, Candidate for Congress, AZ-02:
“Congressman Crane already voted to slash funding that could lead to the closure of three rural hospitals in Arizona’s 2nd District.Now he’s allowing the Trump administration to hurt rural Arizonans even further in its allocation of new rural hospital support funds.
Why can’t Rep. Crane deliver the bare minimum for rural Arizonans, even when his party and allies control the federal government? Or does he simply not care if rural Arizonans can see a doctor when they are sick?
When it comes down to it, this is just plain weak. Gated communities, like the one Rep. Crane lives in, have enough voices to fight for them in Congress. It’s well past time rural Arizonans had one.”
ABOUT JONATHAN NEZ: Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, the 2024 Democratic nominee for Congress in AZ-02, grew up in rural Arizona, helping his family run a ranch without running water or electricity. Nez began his career in public service in his community of Shonto on the Navajo Nation, serving in a number of positions before being elected President of the Navajo Nation in 2018. Today, Jonathan lives in Flagstaff with his wife Phefelia and their two boys.
