Hobbs administration moving forward with nominees for state departments, agencies

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs’ battle with the Republican-controlled legislature is expected to heat up again early next week. On Monday, the governor’s picks to run the state departments of transportation, administration, and environmental quality are scheduled to appear before the GOP-led Senate Committee on Director Nominations.

The panel is influential because it recommends whether the full Senate should confirm the nominees, but it does not have the final say. If the recent past is any indication, the three gubernatorial nominees could be in for a tough day.

Earlier this month, the Senate committee rejected Hobbs’ choice to run the state health department. Dr. Theresa Cullen has since withdrawn her name from consideration. “What was clear from this process is that this committee in the Senate would rather play politics with these nominations and this process than making sure that the most qualified people are there to run these agencies,” Allie Bones, the governor’s chief of staff, said Friday.

Over the past decade, the Republican-led legislatures basically rubber-stamped the executive nominations coming from GOP governors. But this year, with a Democrat in the top office, the newly formed committee has taken a different path. Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Republican from Queen Creek, is the chairman and a strident opponent of Hobbs and what he’s called her “woke agenda.”

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