Senate committee delays vote on Gov. Hobbs nomination for Department of Administration

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A Senate committee on Monday delayed its vote on recommending Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to lead one of the state’s largest departments.

The move means Elizabeth Ann Thorson’s future as director of the Department of Administration is unclear because she still needs the confirmation of the full Senate. Thorson can serve in the position for a year without Senate confirmation. However, she would have to leave immediately if the full Senate rejected her nomination.

This was the second meeting for the new Republican-led committee, which has opened itself up to accusations of playing partisan politics with the governor’s selections to run critical state agencies.

Sen. Jake Hoffman, the GOP chairman of the panel, has been a vocal critic of Hobbs and has vowed to stop her agenda. During the confirmation hearing, Hoffman focused many of his questions on how Thorson would apply her pro-choice views on abortion to the bureaucratic agency. The two other Republicans on the committee grilled Thorson over the $210 million in COVID grants that Hobbs recently blocked.

It’s unclear when the committee will reconsider the nomination of Thorson, who was the second of the governor director nominations to go before the panel today. “We’re still moving forward with Thorson despite another clearly politically motivated bullying session from Hoffman and (company),” a spokeswoman for Hobbs wrote in a text message.

Earlier this month, the committee rejected the governor’s nominee for director of the state health department. The committee also voted 5-0 to confirm Jennifer Ann Toth to lead the Arizona Department of Transportation.

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