Capitol drama: Sen. Hoffman justifies still playing hardball with Gov. Hobbs' nominees
After years of back-and-forth drama, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced in May that she would not submit any more agency director nominations to the state Senate for confirmation. She blamed what she called the "circus" environment for vetting her nominees.
"I'm quite frankly done with Jake Hoffman and his agenda," the governor said in early May. "We're going to move forward in the best way possible in the current environment."
This came after two directors of the state's health care agencies stepped down, saying it was clear they would not be confirmed. Hobbs has been battling the state Senate since she took office for her director nominees, who have gone through a rigorous and unprecedented vetting process.
Because of this, for the majority of her time in office, the agency heads tasked with implementing her agenda have operated on an interim basis.
State Sen. Jake Hoffman heads the Committee on Direction Nominations, which recommends whether a nominee should get a vote of the full Senate. He self-identified on The Gaggle as "one of the most conservative members of the Legislature."
The Queen Creek Republican is also one of the people indicted in the fake electors case, which charges the electors who broke the law by attempting to falsely certify Donald Trump as Arizona's choice for president in 2020.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Sen. Hoffman to discuss why he thinks the stiff scrutiny on the governor's picks is justified.
Later in the episode, Doug Cole, a Republican veteran of state government who knows the process of nominating and selling Cabinet seats to lawmakers, joins to explore this unheard-of situation between the sitting governor and the leader of the Senate committee.
The best way to listen is to subscribe to The Gaggle on your favorite podcast app, but you can also stream the full episode below.
Note: The Gaggle is intended to be heard. But we also offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.
Follow The Gaggle and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter and Instagram.
Listen to The Gaggle : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher
You can share your thoughts with us at 602-444-0804 or via email here.
Reach the producer Amanda Luberto at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @amandaluberto and on Bluesky @amandaluberto. Abby Bessinger assisted with production. You can reach Abby at abby.bessinger@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Inside Arizona's standoff: Hobbs vs. Hoffman over director nominees
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