Grand Canyon Times

Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee has accused Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs of considering herself above the law. Yee's allegation comes after Hobbs withdrew her nominations for several state agency directors from Senate consideration.

In a statement, Yee said, "Katie Hobbs has decided the law doesn't apply to her because the Senate did not rubber stamp her left-wing and disastrous nominees. This is exactly why we have checks and balances in our system and Constitution. No one is above the law."

Hobbs alleges that the Senate intentionally delayed the consideration of her nominees. She sent a letter to Senate President Warren Peterson, accusing the Committee on Nominations of conducting an improper review of her nominations. Hobbs places the primary blame on Senator Jake Hoffman, Chair of the Committee on Nominations, and asserts that the entire process is unlawful. She also declared her intention to "pursue other lawful means of ensuring the state government can work for Arizonans," according to the letter.

As Republicans hold a legislative majority, they have enough votes to reject the governor's director nominees. Hobbs places blame on Senate Republicans, while they argue that Hobbs is acting unlawfully and deeming her nominees unworthy of consideration. The nominations committee recently rejected Hobbs' choice to lead the Arizona Department of Housing, citing plagiarism allegations, sparking tension between the Democratic Governor and the Republican majority. However, the nominations committee had previously approved Hobbs' choices to head other departments, such as the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections, according to 12 News.

The nominees that Hobbs withdrew were intended for various agencies, including lottery, tourism, environmental quality, insurance and financial institutions, gaming, housing, child safety, veteran services, and more. These nominees will now assume the role of executive deputy directors, a position they can hold for up to a year without confirmation, or until the Senate decides to "return to the regular order of confirming nominees," Hobbs' letter states.

In response to Hobbs' letter, Senate President Petersen said, "This move by the Executive Branch showcases another prime example of an elected official who believes they're above the law and will go to extreme measures to bypass the requirements of the law when they don't get their way. The law is very specific on who is to run our state agencies. Without directors fulfilling these obligations, the legality of every decision made by these state agencies is dubious, and litigation against the state would surely prevail."

Chairman Hoffman also criticized Hobbs, saying, "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. 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."

The conflict between Governor Hobbs and Senate Republicans continues to escalate, with both sides accusing the other of acting unlawfully and prioritizing political agendas over the interests of the state.