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Stacey Barchenger
Arizona Republic
Arizona Senate Republicans will hit pause on what were already sporadic hearings to confirm Gov. Katie Hobbs’ cabinet nominees following the Democratic governor’s order last week usurping county prosecutors’ authority to take on cases related to abortion.
Three GOP members on the Senate’s nominations committee announced the latest challenge to Hobbs’ agenda Monday, pledging inaction until they can get a meeting with the governor.
In a single-page letter to Hobbs, they claim her executive order consolidating power to prosecute abortion cases with the attorney general was “a blatant disregard for constitutional separation of powers” that created concern about whether her nominees would follow state law or create new policies. Democrats on the committee and Hobbs’ spokesperson responded by criticizing the committee and its leader for putting politics before their duty to consider the governor’s agency leaders.
Republican senators Jake Hoffman of Queen Creek, Sine Kerr of Buckeye, and T.J. Shope of Coolidge, signed the letter, which was made public with a news release from Senate Republicans. The lawmakers requested a meeting with the Hobbs administration to “discuss any additional unlawful overreach” forthcoming.
“The Committee on Director Nominations has postponed all further nominations pending this meeting,” the letter says in closing, though just one hearing was set. On Tuesday, the five-member panel planned to consider Hobbs’ pick to lead the state agency that oversees insurance and financial institutions and professionals. The committee’s last meeting was more than two weeks ago, June 8.
