AWOL mystery: Democrat leaders departed Arizona during Biden visit, leaving Republican in charge
“Either something very strange is going on, or every top Dem in the state just fled rather than getting their photo taken [with] Biden,” said radio show co-host Sam Stone.
Arizona’s top Democratic leadership left the state while President Joe Biden stopped by for a visit, leaving the Republican state treasurer as acting governor for a brief period.
On Wednesday, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (R) released a statement saying that she would be acting governor but didn’t offer a reason.
“I have been notified that I will be serving as Acting Governor beginning later this evening until mid-morning tomorrow,” Yee wrote. “While I am pleased to step into this role, 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.
“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,” she added. “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."
The directors who Yee referred to are the heads of state agencies. Hobbs nominated 13 state agency directors that Senate President Warren Petersen refuses to confirm because of "incompetency or overt partisanship," reported Capitol Media Services.
Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), and Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) were all out of state on Wednesday night, when Biden arrived in Arizona.
The offices of Hobbs, Fontes, and Mayes didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
The X (formerly Twitter) account of former Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake’s campaign posted on Thursday about the state Democratic leadership’s absence during Biden’s arrival.
“.@JoeBiden arrived in Arizona last night,” the Kari Lake War Room account posted. “@katiehobbs, @Adrian_Fontes, & @krismayes all arranged to be out of town during his visit, forcing the Republican Treasurer to assume control of our state. Why did our entire illegitimate state government leave town at the same time?”
Lake has gone to court with election challenges over her lost bid for Arizona governor last year, alleging that irregularities occurred on Election Day and in the signature verification process for mail-in ballots. She is planning to announce her run for U.S. Senate on Oct. 10.
https://justthenews.com/government/arizona-democratic-leaders-were-absent-state-amid-president-bidens-arrival