On Monday, Arizona House Republicans revealed that the Department of Child Safety’s (DCS) Congregate Care program is bound for bankruptcy in a week’s time and announced the creation of a House Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the responsibility of Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs for a series of fiscal failures.
Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro, joined by Majority Leader Michael Carbone, Majority Whip Julie Willoughby, Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Carter, and members of the House Republican Majority called out the governor directly. “This is not a simple oversight—it is gross financial mismanagement at the highest level,” said Speaker Montenegro. “Governor Hobbs has made a habit of overspending, ignoring reality, and then sounding the alarm only when disaster strikes. The difference here is that Arizona’s children will be the ones to suffer for her failures. That’s why I’m taking immediate action.”
The Speaker continued, “This is a pattern. Congregate Care is set to go bankrupt next week. The Governor’s mismanaged Developmental Disabilities program will collapse by the end of April. Her administration failed to budget for formula growth in AHCCCS for two years straight—racking up hundreds of millions in unaccounted costs. The list goes on. This is not leadership. This is incompetence.”
“The people of Arizona didn’t elect us to stand by while the Governor manufactures crisis after crisis. House Republicans will ensure accountability and enforce responsible budgeting, but we expect the Governor to take ownership of her failures. That starts with making her staff available to the Legislature so we can fully understand the depth of this mismanagement and pursue the right solutions. Governor Hobbs may be comfortable with chaos, but we are not.”
As reported by AZ Free News in February, Treasurer Kimberly Yee reported on the allegations against the Hobbs administration in a letter to Chairman of the Arizona House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Livingston.
In a statement at the time, Livingston said, “I appreciate Treasurer Yee’s clarity in addressing the financial mess Governor Hobbs has created. The issue isn’t ‘missing money’—it’s blatant mismanagement.”
“Under the Governor’s feckless leadership, state agencies are making massive spending decisions with zero legislative oversight, ballooning costs, and expecting taxpayers to foot the bill. This kind of incompetence cannot stand.”
The release from Montenegro detailed that the House Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Budget Mismanagement will examine “how the Governor has consistently mismanaged the budget, ignored financial reality, and allowed critical services to reach the brink of collapse before taking action.”
The Speaker also directed the Chairman of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to summon the Committee to order and instruct Governor Hobbs to redirect existing funds to handle the crisis and prevent harm to the children in DCS custody noting, “The Governor’s administration failed to spend wisely, and it is their responsibility to fix this situation—not the Legislature’s job to bail them out.”
The Peoria Unified School Board (PUSD) has adopted new Student Privacy and Anti-Discrimination policies to provide “clarity on critical issues that have remained ambiguous in practice for years.”
Under the student privacy policy, the district aims to reaffirm “long-standing sex-based privacy standards,” and ensure that all multi-person restrooms, showers, and locker rooms in the district will be limited to use determined by biological sex while “allowing safe and reasonable accommodations for students who request additional privacy.” Under the expanded Anti-Discrimination policy, the district will include protections for pregnancy and parenting status, veteran status, genetic information, and define sex as biological sex in addition to maintaining its protections for individuals based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, and disability.
A press release from PUSD explains that the new policies are “Rooted in the original intent of Title IX, which was enacted over 50 years ago to prohibit sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.” It added that the policies uphold “the principles of equal opportunity while recognizing inherent biological differences, particularly in athletics and privacy accommodations.”
“By adopting these standards, the Board ensures that students have access to a learning environment that respects their rights and privacy, while also shifting accommodation responsibilities back onto the district rather than placing the burden on other students.”
Board President Heather Rooks said in a statement, “As a member of the Peoria Unified School Board, I am committed to Leading with Excellence by ensuring the safety and privacy of every student. A strong Student Privacy Policy is not just a district priority—it is a community expectation. Parents and stakeholders trust us to create secure learning environments where students can thrive. This policy reflects the values of our district and the broader public. National surveys, including Rasmussen, consistently show that a majority of Americans support maintaining sex-based privacy standards in restrooms and locker rooms. Protecting student privacy is essential for their well-being and security.”
The PUSD policies have been a topic of contention on the school board since 2023 when the Governing Board voted to reject a motion to even draft such a policy as reported by AZ Free News. However, under the newly elected administration led by Rooks, the policies have been adopted in short order.
Rooks, fresh off of a U.S. District Court ruling against her lawsuit on biblical quotation during board meetings, has also said via her legal team that she intends to resume quoting Bible passages. Judge Michael Liburdi determined that emailed opinions of the school district’s attorney constitutes “legal advice to board members,” and not an action to prevent her from doing so.
First Liberty Institute, the legal organization representing Rooks told the outlet in a statement, “Heather plans to resume saying the Bible verses at the next board meeting, and appeal the district court’s ruling to ensure her speech remains protected.”
Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ1) delivered his weekly speech before the U.S. House of Representatives last Tuesday and stated that the looming fiscal crisis of the United States is not an ideological matter but is instead a matter of inevitability.
Schweikert, widely known as a budget hawk conservative on the federal deficit and the trajectory of the national debt, warned that the political culture on both sides of the aisle “remains entrapped in a cycle of partisan folklore.”
In a press release, he stated that “the nation’s debt trajectory—already consuming 40 percent of global sovereign borrowing—is poised to spiral out of control, with interest payments alone eclipsing essential expenditures.”
Schweikert suggested in his remarks that with the Social Security trust fund projected to collapse by 2033, “the nation is blindly entering into an era where senior poverty will double overnight.” But he provided a blueprint for a potential solution that leverages data science and AI-driven efficiencies to close this gap, noting that Congress’ failure to do so has further exacerbated the oncoming fiscal collapse.
He told the House, “If I came to you today and said, ‘Let’s strip any partisanship; we need to find waste, fraud, abuse, modeling issues where we’re doing things the wrong way, where we have models that are decades out of date…’ would you hire an army of auditors? An army of lawyers? Or would you hire data scientists?”
He answered, “Turns out, several years ago, Congress started requiring agencies that send out payments that cover health care costs and that send out checks to start sending error reports. In 2023, the reports came back at $236 billion of improper payments. That’s a stunning amount of money, but that doesn’t mean that there’s $236 billion of improper payments that have been stolen. There’s a bunch that has been, but it’s more complex. An army of auditors would take years to grind through this. That’s why there’s the miracle of technology right now—hire some data scientists.“
Schweikert also suggested a policy of aggressive transparency and candor with the American people saying ,“In 2033, the Social Security trust fund is empty. Our brothers and sisters on Social Security will take a 17 percent to 20 percent cut; we DOUBLE senior poverty in America. And when someone says, ‘Just raise the cap,’ our model shows that in 2034, raising the cap only covers about 38 percent of the shortfall. You’ve wiped out the cash needed to save Medicare, which actually runs out like three years later.”
He continued, citing the COVID shutdown and stimulus as being a serious contributor to the problem, “One of the reasons for this chart is [it’s] trying to demonstrate something very simple, that back before TCJA– the 2017 tax reform– the actual projection of what tax receipts would be– so, before the tax changes– we’re right on track. You see the weird blip there? That was a remarkable amount of spending that happened during the pandemic. We actually just went back to nominal. So, what happens here? What happens when there’s this intense, intense hunger to play this weird blame game instead of being willing to tell our voters the truth?“
In a new report from Common Sense Institute (CSI) Arizona, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the Phoenix metro area, remained under the 2% target for the sixth consecutive month. In February, CSI Arizona recorded a year-over-year inflation rate of 1.8% for the metropolitan area. The national rate is currently +2.8% year-over-year, although it is down since President Donald Trump took office.
According to CSI Arizona, the largest driver of inflation has long been the cost of shelter, which was up +0.7% in February with annual shelter costs rising 1.2% year over year. In a post to X, CSI summarized the report stating, “Phoenix is outperforming most of the country when it comes to rising prices.”
Phoenix’s inflation rate has stayed below 2% for six straight months—offering relief for local households. Meanwhile, national inflation remains at 2.8%—showing that Phoenix is outperforming most of the country when it comes to rising prices.
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) March 12, 2025
The report noted, “Among the 23 metro areas measured in the CPI each month, Phoenix ranks 22 in year-over-year inflation (2nd lowest). This is a dramatic change from 2022-2023, when the region consistently ranked among the highest.”
CSI Arizona goes on to observe in the report that the rate of national inflation has historically followed trends in the federal deficit with an approximate lag of 12-24 months and local or state levels are subject to regional dynamics as well, but tend to correspond with the national rate. In December, Fox 10 reported that homelessness in Arizona saw a 3.5% increase since 2023, with over 14,000 people experiencing homelessness.
Nathan Smith, CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services told the outlet, “The cost of living continues to outstrip what people are making, and we’re seeing that we’re at a bit of an inflection point here in Arizona as we are facing the highest eviction rate that we’ve ever had.”
Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs has sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel calling upon the Bureau to launch an investigation into ActBlue, the primary fundraising platform employed by the Democratic Party and thousands of its candidates. Biggs’ request follows allegations that ActBlue has “been used to skirt the integrity of federal campaign finance laws.”
In the letter published by Fox News, Biggs called upon the agency to “initiate an inquiry into the fundraising apparatus known as ‘ActBlue.’” Biggs explained that ActBlue, a fundraising platform and application has raised “more than $16 billion for progressive causes since 2004.”
The congressman went on to cite a 2024 Biden Treasury Department investigation reported by The Washington Times which “found hundreds of suspicious transactions with ActBlue reported by banks,” noting that the White House had reportedly “stalled access to the necessary documents.”
As reported by Fox News, the House Oversight Committee said in a letter to The Treasury Department that its investigation was “intentionally stonewalled,” by the Biden administration.
Reps. Bryan Steil (R-WI), James Comer (R-KY), and Nick Langworthy (R-NY) wrote, “Until recently, ActBlue had not implemented standard procedures to guard against identity theft and fraud, such as by requiring a Card Verification Value (CVV) to process online transactions. The organization is also the subject of several state-level investigations stemming from allegedly fraudulent contributions made via the platform without the reported contributors’ awareness — serious allegations that, if proven true, would violate federal law.”
The platform has been the subject of inquiries from nineteen state Attorneys General. In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into ActBlue after discovering a large number of donations “systematically being made using false identities, through untraceable payment methods.” Paxton also petitioned the Federal Elections Commission for rulemaking to address the allegations.
“Our investigation into ActBlue has uncovered facts indicating that bad actors can illegally interfere in American elections by disguising political donations. It is imperative that the FEC close off the avenues we have identified by which foreign contributions or contributions in excess of legal limits could be unlawfully funneled to political campaigns, bypassing campaign finance regulations and compromising our electoral system,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I am calling on the FEC to immediately begin rulemaking to secure our elections from any criminal actors exploiting these vulnerabilities.”
Congressman Biggs noted further that a lawsuit alleging racketeering by ActBlue is also underway in Wisconsin.
In August, an undercover investigation by the O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) revealed the shocking reactions of alleged ActBlue donors who had no knowledge of hundreds of transactions made in their names.
In a post to X, Elon Musk said, “An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla ‘protests’: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America.”
He added, “ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix. ActBlue is currently under investigation for allowing foreign and illegal donations in criminal violation of campaign finance regulations. This week, 7 ActBlue senior officials resigned, including the associate general counsel.”
An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla “protests”: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America.
ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman,…
When renewed attention was brought to the ActBlue scandal by Musk, OMG quipped in a post to X, “This isn’t news to us. OMG has been investigating ActBlue fraud for years. The work to expose the truth continues…”
This isn’t news to us. OMG has been investigating ActBlue fraud for years.
Biggs’ call for an investigation has come as ActBlue finds itself facing “internal chaos.” The outlet reported that seven senior officials with ActBlue have resigned in the past month and a remaining attorney within the organization suggested that he was facing internal retaliation.
Megan Hughes, an ActBlue spokeswoman, characterized the swath of resignations as the platform undergoing “transition.” She told the Times, “Like many organizations, as we undergo some transition heading into this new election cycle, we are focused on ensuring we have a strong team in place. We greatly appreciate the contributions of our incredible team members and remain deeply committed to the success of our organization and our mission to enable grass-roots supporters to make their voices heard.”
