PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs is withdrawing all her remaining nominees for state agency directors from a Senate vetting committee due to what she calls "partisan obstructionism."
The governor announced Monday she's bypassing the Arizona Senate Committee on Director Nominations and will be pursuing "other lawful avenues" to ensure Arizona's several agencies continue operating.
"I have fulfilled my responsibility of nominating eminently qualified directors who meet the requirements of law," Hobbs wrote in a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen. "It is clear that this committee has taken upon itself to impose some other impossible standard -- or perhaps no standard at all beyond the whims of Senator Hoffman."
The standoff between Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor comes after the nominations committee recently rejected Hobbs' pick to run the Arizona Department of Housing due to claims of plagiarism.
Since Republicans hold a majority in the Legislature, they have enough votes to reject the governor's director nominees. The nominations committee was created earlier this year and replaced the former process of nominees getting vetted by the subject-matter committee in the Senate.
Hobbs' withdrawn nominees were for agencies that include the departments of economic security, administration, environmental quality, gaming, housing, child safety, and veteran services.
The governor said these withdrawn nominees will serve as executive deputy directors until the Arizona Senate "returns to the regular confirmation process."
An interim agency director can serve for up to one year without obtaining confirmation from the Senate.
In a statement, Senate President Warren Petersen said the governor's decision is an example of "an elected official who believes they're above the law" and insisted that the nominations committee will "stand ready to resume the confirmation hearings."
The nominations committee did previously approve Hobbs' picks to run the departments of public safety and corrections.
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