Update: On Thursday, the Arizona Republic reported that Hobbs "was in Washington D.C. Wednesday for a meeting about border issues with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas following a week-long visit to Taiwan, an important Arizona trade ally. She flew back to the state Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden, who arrived Wednesday night for a visit that promoted his campaign messages."
The report not only sought to address "an erroneous news report" from Fox News about Hobbs, which was later corrected, but sought to downplay the speculation about where Hobbs was. "Hobbs didn't disappear," the report claimed, also noting that Treasurer Kimberly Yee "was acting governor for less than 24 hours," though that's still a noteworthy 24 hours.
The Arizona Republic revealed Hobbs' whereabouts at 4:54pm Mountain Standard Time, so people can be forgiven for wondering what was going on when there was so little known for so long.
Further, if Hobbs was indeed "meeting about border issues," and we have no evidence she wasn't, wouldn't that be something Democrats would promote, given how they've been rightfully criticized for how the party--the Biden administration especially--has handled the issue?
Hobbs herself posted on Thursday about a memorial for the late Sen. John McCain, but had not posted about her absence. President Joe Biden had been in Arizona to honor McCain as well.
This facility will offer the people of Arizona a pathway to knowledge & a vehicle for change – perfectly reflecting Senator McCain’s commitment to morality, truth & democracy.
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) September 28, 2023
Original: Katie Hobbs, Arizona's Democratic governor, is certainly trending for a curious reason. On Wednesday night local time in Arizona, it was revealed that she would not be governor for a short while, until "mid-morning" on Thursday. A statement was put out by Acting Governor Kimberly Yee, a Republican, who as the Treasurer, is fourth in line. Everyone else was out of the state. It appears little is known about where Hobbs, who has been out of the state since Sunday, actually went, as our sister site Twitchy pointed out in their coverage.
I have been notified that I will be serving as Acting Governor beginning later this evening until mid-morning tomorrow. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/sSuiSCebk4
— Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee (@AZTreasurerYee) September 27, 2023
It is especially curious that this was all happening as President Joe Biden arrived in Arizona. Could his fellow Democrats really be that afraid of being associated with him? Some think it's possible.
Maybe coincidence, but this is wild.
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) September 28, 2023
As Biden landed in Arizona tonight, the state was forced to designate its GOP Treasurer Kimberly Yee the temporary governor.
She's 4th in line of succession behind Dem Gov, Dem Sec of State, and Dem AG, who seem to have all left the state. pic.twitter.com/8NVeQGiu0v
Elected Dems when Biden lands pic.twitter.com/9frEFWO1X7
— Donny Ferguson (@DonnyFerguson) September 28, 2023
Making the story even juicier is that Yee's statement references how she is not naming directors to the 13 agencies that have vacancies. "I will refrain from naming directors to the 13 agencies that currently have vacancies and will not call the Arizona Legislature into session to confirm them," her statement mentions.
"That being said, I do hope when the Governor returns to Arizona, she will promptly name qualified directors to these important state agencies and remove the legal uncertainty that exists for all of the regulatory actions taken by the agencies," her statement goes on to read. "I expect to see a swift resolution to this matter, so we can get back to getting the work done for Arizona taxpayers. The people of Arizona deserve leaders who follow the rule of law."
Reporting from the Arizona Capitol Times explains the situation further, as Hobbs turned to "procedural maneuvers," with the governor "thumbing her nose at the law," as Yee put it:
The top elected Republican in Arizona is refusing to recognize the “executive deputy directors” named by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
State Treasurer Kimberly Yee said she did not allow those tapped by the governor as heads of two state agencies to sit at a meeting this week of the State Board of Investment. That panel reviews the $30 billion in investments of the treasurer and actually serves as trustee for certain funds.
It also, by law, includes the director of the Department of Administration and the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.
Only thing is, there are no “directors,” at least not officially.
That’s because Hobbs, upset with the failure of the Senate to act on their nominations, not only withdrew them from consideration but removed them as interim directors. She then had them reinstalled through a procedural maneuver as each agency’s “executive deputy director.”
It also, by law, includes the director of the Department of Administration and the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.
Only thing is, there are no “directors,” at least not officially.
That’s because Hobbs, upset with the failure of the Senate to act on their nominations, not only withdrew them from consideration but removed them as interim directors. She then had them reinstalled through a procedural maneuver as each agency’s “executive deputy director.”
That, said Yee, herself a former state senator, is illegal. And she won’t accept those named deputies to be voting members of the panel.
“I believe she is thumbing her nose at the law,” the treasurer said of the governor. Yee said Hobbs should understand that, with the two having served in the Senate at the same time.
“We expect Treasurer Yee to stop playing political games,” responded Christian Slater, the governor’s press aide. He contends the law allows these deputies to serve as designees, saying the treasurer should “seat the duly authorized board members and ensure government keeps working on behalf of Arizonans.”
But Yee, who had made a short-lived bid for governor in 2021 before withdrawing from the GOP primary and deciding instead to seek reelection for her own office, said the issue goes beyond the members of the investment board. She said if there are not Senate-confirmed people heading agencies “then we really do have some rogue people sitting in top positions, making executive decisions, and who are not elected, for a very long time.”
It gets even more urgent when it comes to the Board of Investment:
More immediate is the spat over the Board of Investment.
The five-member panel was able to meet earlier this week, with Yee and two of her appointees present. But that leaves the board without a working majority if any of them are absent for their monthly meetings. And it also means that the governor’s appointees are effectively locked out of any decisions made.
Yee’s move also changes the legal landscape for the whole dispute.
Hobbs’ actions in naming “deputy executive directors” — a position that doesn’t even actually exist in state law — puts the Legislature in the position of having to file suit if it wants to have the moves declared illegal. In the interim, though, her appointments remain.
Now, however, the tables are turned: If Hobbs wants the heads of the two agencies to serve on the Board of Investment, she would have to get a legal ruling to overturn Yee’s decision to exclude them.
The article also notes that there was a similar situation in 1991, when a Republican governor was contending with a Democratic-controlled state Senate.
Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time and most of the state doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time, so it's still pretty early in the day there. Stay tuned for more updates.