FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 25, 2023
Senator Jake Hoffman Shares Disappointment With Katie Hobbs' Temper Tantrum Over Senate's Vetting Process of State Agency Director Nominees
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senator Jake Hoffman is speaking out against the temper tantrum displayed by Governor Katie Hobbs with today's letter sent to Senate President Warren Petersen, indicating she's decided to play games with the critical Senate confirmation process of state agency director nominees.
The Senate Committee on Director Nominations, which Senator Hoffman serves as Chairman for, was created to accurately and thoroughly vet Hobbs' nominees to ensure only qualified individuals seeking to serve the best interests of the state without extreme partisan influence are holding these important positions of power. The Senate has instituted a long overdue process that has proven to be fair, comprehensive, and committed to the best interests of the people who call our state home. State agency directors have an immediate impact on the lives and livelihoods of every Arizonan; therefore, the Senate has a crucial role under Arizona law in providing a check and balance on the Governor's choices.
"With this latest stunt, Katie Hobbs has doubled down on her commitment to weaponizing the government of Arizona to enact her extreme far-left agenda. The people of our state deserve highly qualified, non-partisan individuals to lead these agencies, instead Hobbs has chosen to nominate partisans and ideologues," said Chairman Hoffman. "Hobbs is the only person to blame for her nominees struggling to succeed under actual due diligence. She should have done her homework prior to making her nominations, yet she chose not to and is now attempting to blame everyone else except herself for her failures."
"If the Governor wishes to limit her own authority by forgoing rulemaking and other director-required activities in the absence of confirmed directors, we certainly welcome this limitation of her power," said Chairman Hoffman. "Hobbs has made it abundantly clear that she has no intention of working constructively with the Legislature the voters gave her. Instead, she's choosing to throw petulant temper tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. The only ones who stand to lose in the wake of her childish games are the citizens of Arizona. I'm incredibly disappointed, but I'm certainly not surprised."
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For more information, contact:
Kim Quintero
Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus
kquintero@azleg.gov