by Matthew Holloway | Jun 10, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a statement released via X on Sunday, the group ‘Veterans for Arizona’ asked United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins why allegations against Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego have not been investigated. The allegations stem from prominent 2023 reports that Gallego claimed both his residences in Arizona and Washington, D.C., as his primary residence in order to benefit from special VA mortgage rates granted as a benefit to U.S. Veterans.
During Gallego’s 2024 U.S. Senate Campaign, Politico stated that Gallego purchased his Washington, D.C., home near the Capitol claiming that it was his primary residence on documentation for a VA home loan, while the then-Congressman and his wife also claimed their Phoenix home as their primary residence.
Citing loan documents the outlet obtained, Politico reported that Gallego’s campaign officially maintained that his primary residence is located in Arizona, as required by election law, despite the documentation of his Washington, D.C., home.
In June 2023, after the reports initially appeared in Politico, the National Republican Senate Committee raised the concern that “Gallego signed loan documents making Washington, D.C., his primary residence to obtain favorable mortgage rates, while at the same time taking advantage of homeowner tax breaks and voting in Arizona. This raises questions about whether Gallego committed fraud on his loan application.”
The NRSC also noted that the revelation of Gallego’s alleged mortgage fraud came to light just weeks after his links to a bank targeting immigrants were exposed by AZCentral. The bank was later shut down according to the outlet.
NRSC spokesman Tate Mitchell told the Arizona Republic, “If Ruben Gallego signed fraudulent documents, that will be a serious issue for him in the election — and potentially with the authorities,” Mitchell said. “National Democrats are in a serious pickle as they choose between their incumbent, Kyrsten Sinema, and accused fraudster Ruben Gallego.”
“Legally, Gallego doesn’t have to live in his district to serve in Congress, this isn’t like legislative offices or most county offices,” one election law expert told the Arizona Daily Independent. However, they added, “His campaign does have to consider the optics and potential legality of what he’s doing. Claiming two primary residences in two different states to obtain favorable terms and to meet the requirements of the loans, even though both claims can’t be simultaneously true, isn’t something the average person does or even thinks to do. So it’s another Washington D.C., elite that laws don’t apply to, running for office claiming to be for the average Joes.”
Despite the allegations against him, Gallego was successful in his Senate bid and went on to become a harsh critic of VA Secretary Collins, with the Senator announcing plans to block all VA nominations in April until Collins drops plans to make staffing cuts to the VA in accordance with the Trump administration’s demands for government efficiency. Gallego reiterated the demand in May in a letter co-signed by fellow Arizona Democrats Senator Mark Kelly, and Representatives Greg Stanton (AZ-04) and Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03).
Collins refuted Gallego’s claims however under questioning by Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ08) during a House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing on May 15th, telling Hamadeh, “We’re not looking at doctors, we’re not looking at nurses. We’re looking at issues where we have payroll that’s being done at 60 locations, that was supposed to be centralized a long time ago, with hundreds of employees that we’re now looking to consolidate to see how we can run it efficiently and more cost effectively.”
He added, “We don’t need them all over the place, we don’t need the issues we have with human resources being run in every location, again, with hundreds of employees.”
“Frontline workers should be the happiest at the VA right now because we’re going to be freeing them up to do their job and not get bogged down with paperwork,” Collins noted per the Arizona Daily Independent.
As of this report, no investigation has been announced against Senator Gallego pertaining to the allegations raised by the NRSC following the Politico report.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jun 9, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Heading into November’s election, the Democratic Party felt good. They thought they had the presidency locked up. And here locally, they were convinced that they would gain control of Arizona’s legislature after outspending Republicans in every single race.
Then, a massacre happened. President Trump was handed a mandate by the American people, and Democrats actually lost ground in our state legislature. That had to feel like rock bottom for the Left, and yet, as we’ve seen so far in 2025, it wasn’t.
On the heels of their historic defeat, the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) faced accusations of financial wrongdoing from one of its leaders, just days before its convention and officer elections in January. Then, in April, the ADP saw even more infighting between party leadership and the state’s top Democratic elected officials: Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, and U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego. Now, the latest news shows that, according to its own leadership, the Arizona Democratic Party will actually go broke by the end of this year.
That’s a lot of dysfunction in just a few short months, which is usually the domain for Republicans. But now it appears the Dems have become the standard bearer of political chaos…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Staff Reporter | Jun 1, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) will go broke by the end of this year, according to the party’s own leadership.
News of the party’s financial woes emerged after ADP’s executive committee rejected a budget from the party’s new chairman, Robert Branscomb, in a recent meeting per Arizona Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl.
ADP’s committee reportedly cited the current state of spending and low fundraising for the diminishing funds.
This new development emerged shortly after Branscomb suspended his vice chair, Kim Khoury, through email. Branscomb accused Khoury of working against him — accusations he’s leveled against others early on in his leadership.
“[You engaged] in political activity directed against party leadership while holding an executive officer role,” said Branscomb.
And in recent months, there were reports of infighting between party leadership and the state’s top elected Democrats.
In a tell-all email issued last month, Branscomb provided a 90-day “candidate update” in which he accused his predecessor, Yolanda Bejarano, of undermining him and both U.S. Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of threatening him over his decision making. Kelly and Gallego were supportive of Bejarano’s reelection, as were Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
In a joint response to the accusations, Fontes, Gallego, Hobbs, Kelly, and Mayes said they had only sought to support Branscomb from the beginning.
“We’ve spent the last several months meeting regularly with the chair and working to support the party through the transition,” read the statement. “Unfortunately, his statement today includes many false claims and is the kind of bad-faith response we’ve come to expect from the new leadership over the last several weeks.”
ADP is facing financial struggles despite the millions in heavy outside spending given as assistance in key state legislative races across the state last fall — expenditures that surpassed the more successful Republicans, even.
In January, ADP faced accusations of financial wrongdoing from one of the ADP vice chairs at the time, Will Knight. The former treasurer, Rick McGuire, was accused of “self-dealing.” Bejarano denied Knight’s request for an audit of the party’s finances, and denounced the accusations as “defamatory” and “false and damaging.”
ADP’s troubles are consistent with the issues facing the national Democratic Party. Although Democrats outraised and outspent Republicans in last year’s election, they gained only one seat in the House and lost four seats in the Senate — resulting in a Republican control of the Senate that reflected the most gains for either party in a decade.
Major donors to the Democratic Party vented their frustrations to mainstream media this week.
“Why would I write a check when we’re losing everything? We’re losing the airwaves. We’re losing the tech battle. We’re losing the ground game. They have yet to prove that they have learned any real lessons yet,” said one donor anonymously. “So either people start to wake up or we lose again.”
A survey in March of Democratic voters by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only one-third felt optimistic about the party’s future.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | May 21, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Decorated combat veteran Army Captain Sam Brown (ret.), a 41-year-old, West Point graduate nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the National Cemetery Administration as Veteran Affairs Undersecretary of Memorial Affairs, was reportedly blocked in confirmation by Democrat Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
According to a post to X by VA Secretary Doug Collins, Brown is being blocked by Blumenthal and Gallego “to score cheap political points.” He commented, “Awful behavior, senators.”
Rather than offering an explanation for his blocking Brown, Gallego lobbed an ad hominem attack at Collins writing, “VA Collins only cares about disabled Veterans that are his political appointees. He is going to arbitrarily fire thousands of Veterans from the VA. Awful behavior Secretary.”
Similarly, Sen. Blumenthal accused Collins of attempting to distract the American people in his own post to X. He wrote, “Stop seeking to distract. Republicans can bring these nominees to the floor for a full debate & vote whenever they choose. Americans & veterans deserve transparency & accountability around your political nominees & your concealed plans to cut 83,000 VA employees.”
Blumenthal and Gallego appear to be referring to an alleged leaked memo released by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which refers to VA staffing reductions driven by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative. While the VA has shared data with NPR showing that 11,273 agency employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, the department stated that staff cuts will not affect veterans’ health care with Collins accusing Democrats of fearmongering during a senate hearing on May 6th.
“I will not let you sit here and scare my veterans and scare my employees, because no one has discussed firing doctors or firing nurses,” Collins told Blumenthal. “We’ve always said that we’re going to keep frontline health care.”
Answering questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), he said, “We have been emphatic that we will not be cutting benefits and health care, only improving them.”
Reacting to the news, Brown released a statement via social media thanking VA Secretary Collins saying, “I’ve served our nation once with honor. I’ve been nominated by President Trump to do it again. Unfortunately there are Democrat Senators who want to block my service to the great USA, our beloved veterans, and their families.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 22, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) is strained by infighting, with party leadership and top elected Democrats at odds.
ADP Chairman Robert Branscomb issued a tell-all email over the weekend revealing the politics within the party. Branscomb’s email — styled as “a candidate update on the past 90 days” — focused primarily on accusing his predecessor of undermining him and both U.S. Senators of threatening him over his decision making.
Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego supported Branscomb’s opponent for the chairmanship, Yolanda Bejarano — as did Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Branscomb accused the party’s former executive director, Morgan Dick, of resistance and “outright obstruction” during the transition. Branscomb alleged false accusations were made against him in staff chats; banking information was withheld; the state party workspace was emptied of computers, furniture, and transitional documents; and staff were encouraged to resign. For those reasons, Branscomb said, he let Dick go and replaced her with political director Michael Ruff. Dick denied Branscomb’s allegations.
Following Dick’s removal, Branscomb alleged Senator Kelly attempted to control his staffing decisions. Then, following Ruff’s appointment, Branscomb alleged both senators threatened to withdraw their support for the party.
“Let me be clear: no state party chair should be threatened or intimidated by any elected official for making a decision in the best interest of our party,” said Branscomb. “The idea that both Arizona Senators would withdraw support because I did not choose their preferred candidate is not only troubling — it’s a threat to the integrity and independence of our party. I will not be coerced, and I will not be silenced.”
Kelly, Gallego, Hobbs, Fontes, and Mayes issued a joint response disputing Branscomb’s claims. The state’s top Democratic elected officials vowed they had met with Branscomb regularly and supported him through the transition. However, they didn’t express surprise at the publication of Branscomb’s letter.
“We’ve spent the last several months meeting regularly with the chair and working to support the party through the transition,” read the statement. “Unfortunately, his statement today includes many false claims and is the kind of bad-faith response we’ve come to expect from the new leadership over the last several weeks.”
Following the Saturday letter from the ADP chair, LD22 Democrats experienced a more localized form of infighting at their Monday meeting. The Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl reported precinct committee members had attempted unsuccessfully to remove their district’s entire board, specifically citing displeasure with newly elected district chair Leezah Sun.
Sun couldn’t attend the LD22 Democrats meeting in person due to an active restraining order against her. Sun earned the restraining order following workplace harassment complaints filed by city of Tolleson employees; a Maricopa County Superior Court judge found Sun to be a threat to the employees’ physical safety and barred her from contacting the employees or entering the Tolleson Civic Center.
Sun was formerly a lawmaker in the state legislature. Sun resigned from the House last February to avoid expulsion after the House Ethics Committee found she violated ethics rules with a pattern of disorderly behavior. Undeterred by effectively having been ousted from the legislature, Sun ran for and won a seat on the Tolleson Union High School District governing board. The board also elected her to be their president.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
