Did a judge rule that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs broke the law when appointing deputy directors to run state agencies?
On June 5, 2024, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled that Gov. Katie Hobbs acted illegally in appointing deputy directors as “de facto” directors of state agencies.
Hobbs, a Democrat, appointed 13 “executive deputy directors” to state agencies after the Republican-led Senate—using a newly minted “Committee on Director Nominations” specifically created to vet Hobbs’ picks—denied several of her nominees for cabinet directorships.
It is the responsibility of agency heads, not the governor, to select deputy directors. The lawsuit says Hobbs nominated an interim director to each of the 13 agencies to assume the role, hire deputies and then resign from the directorship. Nominees are acting directors pending their senate confirmation.
The deputies took on tasks typically assigned to directors, a workaround that unlawfully circumvented the Senate approval process, the judge ruled. Hobbs is appealing the ruling.
