Gov. Katie Hobbs doesn’t appear to be in support of President Joe Biden seeking re-election anymore.
In a Friday interview with CBS News host Major Garrett on “The Takeout,” Hobbs shied away from answering directly whether she supported the president’s aspirations for a second term.
“How excited are you about a Biden re-election campaign?” asked Garrett.
Hobbs laughed in response initially before adding: “As the newly-elected governor of Arizona, I’m very focused on Arizona. And that’s — I haven’t weighed in on the presidential election yet.”
Biden formally announced his re-election campaign last month.
Hobbs’ hesitancy to stump for Biden represents a complete reversal of her attitude back in January, a little less than a month into her administration. Four months ago, Hobbs expressed excitement at the prospect of re-electing Biden.
“Congrats to the newly elected @azdemparty board – I look forward to partnering with them and @a_dlcc over the next 2 years to win back our US House & Senate seats, deliver our electoral votes for Pres. Biden again, and flip the legislature blue,” said Hobbs. “Time to get to work.”
Congrats to the newly elected @azdemparty board – I look forward to partnering with them and @a_dlcc over the next 2 years to win back our US House & Senate seats, deliver our electoral votes for Pres. Biden again, and flip the legislature blue.
Also in January, Hobbs praised Biden for visiting the border.
“I am encouraged by the White House’s recent actions to finally visit the border and to start proposing real steps to begin addressing the problems of the current system,” said Hobbs. “And while optimistic, I will also continue to push Congress to do its job and pass comprehensive immigration reform.”
Hobbs then listed off several initiatives launched under Biden that she says she’s grateful for, such as the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act. The governor didn’t linger too long on the subject of Biden’s re-election campaign.
Hobbs appeared to flip back and forth on her perspective of Biden. She said that Biden was delivering positive results for Americans. She also claimed that he had better stamina than she does.
“Biden and Harris are an administration and right now they’re delivering for the people of America,” said Hobbs.
Yet, the governor also indicated that the Biden administration’s handling of the economy was causing the country to head into a recession. She said she sides with average Americans’ sense of the economy over purported experts.
“I think that the economists are more optimistic than folks on the ground,” said Hobbs. “A recession is more likely than the economists are projecting.”
Concerning a potential adversary for Biden, Hobbs said that current polling she’s witnessed has placed former President Donald Trump ahead of rumored challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Hobbs also answered on several other topics, including her Republican gubernatorial opponent Kari Lake and her controversial veto of a bill allowing homemade food sales (mainly impacting tamales and other street vendor foods).
Concerning the homelessness crisis, Hobbs said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s more recent requirement that cities submit their homeless mitigation plans to him for approval was the role model for handling homelessness.
“I think Governor Newsom’s done great things around homelessness, and certainly there are some pages we can take out of his playbook,” said Hobbs.
According to a US News analysis of the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Arizona has two out of the top 25 cities for largest homeless populations in the country. California has eight, with Los Angeles holding the number-one spot for the most homeless in the nation.
Tucson was listed as having the 25th-largest homeless population, with just over 2,200 homeless individuals reflecting a 68 percent increase from 2020 to last year. Phoenix had the seventh-largest homeless population of just over 9,000, with a 22 percent increase from 2020 to last year.
On the water crisis, Hobbs said that cotton and alfalfa growers should expect “difficult conversations” around the future of their business.
“If you’re a farmer that grows alfalfa, do you want to be told you can’t keep growing that? No,” said Hobbs.
Garrett pointed out that 60 percent of farmers today are Native American, and that they had thousands of years of their ancestral history rooted in agriculture. Hobbs said she wasn’t aware of that fact. However, the governor said that the Native American communities could adjust.
“I think that our Native American communities are some of the most adaptable anywhere, and I think they could shift their agriculture if they needed to,” said Hobbs.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Save Our Schools Arizona (SOS) and some Dem lawmakers were up in arms last week. And anytime that happens, you know you’re probably doing something right.
Last Wednesday, the Republican-led legislature passed the $17.8 billion budget, and it was a big win for students, parents, school choice, and Arizona’s taxpayers. Despite the fact that Governor Katie Hobbs made it clear that she planned to dismantle school choice for all with a full repeal of the beloved Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA), Hobbs signed the budget without any cap or restrictions on the historic program. This should be cause for celebration—unless, of course, you’re SOS or certain Democrat lawmakers.
Predictably, SOS got right to work on spreading lies about the popular ESA program, claiming it would drain K-12 public schools of funding, hurt Arizona’s economy, and even bankrupt the state. That last lie is particularly absurd, but then again SOS has a history of such desperation when its back is against the wall. (Can you imagine being this bent out of shape that children from all walks of life can get an education that best fits their needs?)
The reality is that the ESA program has absolutely exploded during this fiscal year…
The Biden Administration is attempting to mitigate unfavorable headlines at the southern border once again.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed a report that more troops were headed to the U.S.-Mexico border. A statement attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder read, “At the request of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Austin approved a temporary Department of Defense (DoD) increase of an additional 1,500 military personnel to supplement U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) efforts on the U.S. Southwest Border.”
The news from the Pentagon came just days before a COVID-era border policy, Title 42, is scheduled to end. Title 42 was an action “derived under U.S. Code Title 42, Section 265” …to suspend “entries and imports from designated places to prevent spread of communicable diseases.” According to a memorandum from then-U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney S. Scott, “while operating under this authority, USBP will use Title 42 authority to immediately expel any individual encountered attempting to enter the United States in violation of travel restrictions.”
Experts and border officials have long predicted disastrous consequences for the end of Title 42, and recent numbers have confirmed those warnings. On May 1, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted the news that there were 22,220 apprehensions at the southern border in the past 72 hours.
Brig. Gen. Ryder’s announcement gave insight into the assigned duties of the additional troops, stating, “For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support. Military personnel will not directly participate in law enforcement activities. This deployment to the border is consistent with other forms of military support to DHS over many years.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott had an entirely different perspective on the DOD’s move, tweeting, “Biden says he will deploy 1,500 troops to the border – primarily to do paperwork. And only for 90 days. This does nothing to stop illegal immigration. I deployed up to 10,000 Texas National Guard to the border to fill the gaps created by Biden’s reckless open border policies.”
Biden says he will deploy 1,500 troops to the border — primarily to do paperwork. And only for 90 days.
This does nothing to stop illegal immigration.
I deployed up to 10,000 Texas National Guard to the border to fill the gaps created by Biden's reckless open border policies. pic.twitter.com/WkQMGf779e
Over the past few weeks, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs does not appear to have proactively issued statements about the end of Title 42, the influx of troops to the border, or the expected increase in illegal immigration. Her last Twitter communication about border security may have been on April 24 when she touted her meeting with Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo, writing,
“I had a productive conversation with Governor Alfonso Durazo on expanding partnerships in trade, commerce, and infrastructure, and opening lines of communication between our governments as we come closer to the expiration of Title 42. We will use all the tools and resources available to manage the effects of lifting Title 42, including our partnerships in Sonora that support the Sonoran mega-region and create lasting and meaningful cross-border collaboration.”
I had a productive conversation with Governor @AlfonsoDurazo on expanding partnerships in trade, commerce, and infrastructure, and opening lines of communication between our governments as we come closer to the expiration of Title 42.
Attorney General Kris Mayes has claimed that universal school choice will bankrupt the state, despite expenditure data showing that school choice saves the state money.
Mayes made the claims in a Saturday letter threatening to sue Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state legislature over last year’s universalization of the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. Mayes blamed the ESA Program for the state’s decision to deny her office ongoing funding, claiming that the program was a “catastrophic drain” on state resources.
Thank you @AZAGMayes for speaking up. This universal voucher program is dangerous for our public schools but also our entire state and vital programs we rely on. We cannot allow this program to continue as is. Reign it in and protect our kids, their schools and our state!! https://t.co/gUg0THlHYs
The state budget reached an unanticipated increase to $2.5 billion despite the 40,000 leap in ESA Program enrollments. Total ESA enrollments reached nearly 52,000 in March. At present, there are nearly 54,000 students enrolled.
ESA Program students provide a cost-saving measure for the state. Each student receives up to $7,000 in scholarship funds — about half of what the average public school spends on each student.
Current ESA Program participation reflects a cost savings of about $363 million. Originally, those students without universal school choice would cost the state about $725 million.
Although Mayes named Hobbs as an opponent on this issue, Hobbs wouldn’t side with the slim-Republican majority supporting school choice in this fight over ESA Program funding. Hobbs has previously proposed rolling back the ESA Program on the grounds that it would cost the state $1.5 billion over the next decade.
Hobbs omitted the fact that the Arizona public school system costs $15 billion annually. If every one of the estimated 1.15 million students joined the ESA Program, the cost would be just over $8 billion annually.
After Mayes’ letter, other Democrats joined in on the call to roll back the ESA Program. State Rep. Judy Schwiebert (D-LD02) insisted that the ESA Program funds were taken away from other, more important issues.
“We need to fight the fentanyl crisis; protect our children; combat elder abuse; fund our secure & safe elections, and deal with the homelessness, housing, teacher & water crises,” stated Schwiebert.
We must cap universal ESA vouchers in the upcoming budget. They now threaten to bankrupt AZ. We need to fight the fentanyl crisis; protect our children; combat elder abuse; fund our secure & safe elections, and deal with the homelessness, housing, teacher & water crises.
— Representative Judy Schwiebert, AZ House LD2 (@JudyForAZ) May 8, 2023
State Rep. Austin Smith (R-LD29) countered that claim, declaring that ESA Program funding would cause bankruptcy was untrue.
This is just blatantly untrue. ESA’s are not bankrupting Arizona. There should be a misinformation disclaimer here. https://t.co/tqpsH70Q24
Mesa Public Schools (MPS) Board Member Rachel Walden shared that MPS had more funding at present than they had prior to the ESA Program universalization.
MPS has more $$ now than prior to the ESA expansion, above the national avg, with 9,000 less students. They still get federal, local funding regardless. They should be asking why public school is draining the tax payer. ESA students run on half this amount. pic.twitter.com/82Dul38Rhz
One of the least transparent administrations in Arizona history has become even less transparent.
On Tuesday, veteran Arizona reporter Dennis Welch shared a video he captured of Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs avoiding questions from reporters as she raced to an awaiting suburban. A Hobbs aide was overheard saying, “We’re not taking questions today; I’m very sorry.”
The Hobbs Dodge: Footage from @GovernorHobbs yesterday ducking questions from the press, again. The move has increasingly become standard operating procedure for a governor who promised an open relationship with the media at the start of her administration. #azfamilypic.twitter.com/dfCxEXBzov
In sharing the video, Welch wrote, “The Hobbs Dodge: Footage from Governor Hobbs yesterday ducking questions from the press, again. The move has increasingly become standard operating procedure for a governor who promised an open relationship with the media at the start of her administration.”
The tweet has over half a million views.
Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope told AZ Free News, “Governor Hobbs promised to run a transparent administration but from the beginning, it’s been clear that those were just talking points. From taking weeks to disclose donors to her inaugural events, vetoing bills without reaching out to members, and now running away from reporters, the only thing transparent has been her desire to walk herself off from the public.”
Representative Cory McGarr reacted to the video shortly after it hit the social media platform, tweeting, “If I couldn’t defend any of my insane actions as governor I would probably run from the press too.”
If I couldn’t defend any of my insane actions as governor I would probably run from the press too. https://t.co/ZQfrPnWQsU
Representative Austin Smith tweeted, “Why would she need to talk to the media? Y’all carry water for her anyway. She’s not beholden to you. She owns you.”
Why would she need to talk to the media?
Y’all carry water for her anyway. She’s not beholden to you. She owns you. https://t.co/UuHqyGoXzk
Members of the Arizona press also piled on to express their frustrations with Hobbs’ refusal to answer questions. Laurie Roberts, a columnist with the Arizona Republic, stated, “This is a bad look for a governor…”
Nick Phillips, a reporter with the Arizona Capitol Times, wrote, “Last time Governor Hobbs answered journalists’ questions was in March, before 2 high-profile departures from her comms team.”
Jeremy Duda, a reporter with Axios Phoenix, said, “This is an annual event and I don’t ever recall a governor not doing a gaggle with the press afterward. It wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Hobbs hadn’t halted the weekly press conferences she was doing during her first few months in office.”
This is an annual event and I don't ever recall a governor not doing a gaggle with the press afterward. It wouldn't be as much of an issue if Hobbs hadn't halted the weekly press conferences she was doing during her first few months in office. https://t.co/bJb5DeZUBK
After posting his video of Hobbs, Welch added, “It’s been 2 weeks since Governor Hobbs vetoed the so-called tamale bill. She still hasn’t said what changes she wants to get her support. Unlikely to get answers soon. Her schedule shows she’ll be in DC & Sedona (an off the record event) for the rest of the week.”
It’s been 2 weeks since @GovernorHobbs vetoed the so-called tamale bill. She still hasn’t said what changes she wants to get her support. Unlikely to get answers soon. Her schedule shows she’ll be in DC & Sedona (an off the record event) for the rest of the week. #azfamilyhttps://t.co/BZkrk5SLg1pic.twitter.com/g9wm1iN7i2
