State News

Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) asked the Trump administration last Wednesday to rescind its report criticizing the Phoenix Police Department (PPD), which came about as a result of violent protesters complaining about  their interactions with officers. He sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel requesting a halt to the “desperate witch hunt,” which could end up putting the PPD in a consent decree with the federal government under monitoring. The Trump administration said in January that it is pausing all civil rights investigations into law enforcement agencies. Hamadeh said in the letter, “Despite the Biden DOJ’s baseless claims, our officers did everything right, voluntarily cooperating in good faith, opening their records, and participating in lengthy interviews. They were met with stonewalling, mischaracterized testimony, and a final report riddled with glaring inaccuracies. The Biden DOJ’s claim that Phoenix Police Department officers violated constitutional standards during unrest following one of President Trump’s rallies was absurd. That claim is especially ludicrous because the Ninth Circuit affirmed that the department’s actions were lawful. The Biden DOJ ignored this and many other court-backed facts, choosing instead to cherry-pick narratives that support their political agenda.” 

The State House Republican majority held a press conference on Tuesday to address concerns over what some are calling a pay-to-play scheme involving Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.

Local commissioners, supervisors, and school board members in Michigan have resigned their seats after reelection, allowing the local government bodies to fill the vacancies by appointment with people that they prefer, instead of scheduling a special election to allow voters to make the choice.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced in a video filmed at Arizona’s border with Mexico, that construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall will resume, starting with seven new miles in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector.

The City of Phoenix is planning on raising taxes on businesses that provide services in order to pay for an alleged revenue shortfall. However, the Goldwater Institute (GI) sent Phoenix officials a letter on March 6 warning them that the Arizona Constitution does not allow any new taxes or tax increases on “services.” GI said the tax increase would “rais[e] the prices of services like construction, contracting, and lodging.” Article IX, Section 25 of the Arizona Constitution provides, “The state, any county, city, town, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state … shall not impose or increase any sales tax, transaction privilege tax, luxury tax, excise tax, use tax, or any other transaction-based tax, fee, stamp requirement or assessment on the privilege to engage in, or the gross receipts of sales or gross income derived from, any service performed in this state.” 

Attorney General Kris Mayes, who has pushed back aggressively against the Trump administration since January including filing nine lawsuits, joined a lawsuit with 20 other Democratic attorneys general on Thursday suing to stop the layoffs of half of the U.S. Department of Education employees.

A new report analyzing electric utility APS’ “Net Zero” Preferred Plan, which was approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) last year, found that the plan to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions caused by fossil fuels by 2038 will increase prices for ratepayers by at least 45 percent and cause blackouts. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club and AZ Liberty Network issued their findings last week about the aggressive plan to switch to solar and wind power. The report, authored by Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling, co-founders of Always On Energy Research (AOER), emphasized, “The most important thing to know about Arizona Public Service (APS) is that it is not a private company, it is a government-approved monopoly utility.” Families who live within its territory do not have any other option for electricity. 

Attorney General David Yost on Monday joined a push for the U.S. Congress to allow for yearlong sales of E15 gasoline, a fuel blend for modern vehicles from which 15 percent is derived through renewable agricultural sources and 85 percent through normal gasoline, arguing bipartisan legislation submitted recently to accomplish this goal would benefit Ohio farmers and the rest of the country. “Ohio’s motorists, farmers and energy providers all stand to gain from this proposal,” Yost said in a statement published by his office.  “It’s good for our state’s economy, and it’s a key step toward energy independence for our country.”

The State Senate passed legislation down party lines sponsored by State Senator Mark Finchem (R-Prescott) on Monday that would increase the security of paper ballots. SB 1123 requires the use of at least three of 10 fraud countermeasures on ballots. Accusations arose in recent elections that unofficial ballots were submitted that did not conform to the required standards, raising suspicions they were artificially inserted into the elections process by bad actors. The bill moves to the State House of Representatives next. "Arizonans deserve fair and accurate elections, free from fraud and illegal influence," said Finchem in a statement released by Senate Republicans. "This bill was carefully crafted and is a commonsense solution that will increase voter confidence. By adding these countermeasures to our ballots, we can ensure that every vote is accurately counted, verified, and speaks to citizens and the right to exercise their franchise. Fraud has no place in our election system, and this bill will make it more of a challenge for bad actors to manipulate the system."

After being tapped by President Donald Trump last year after his election to lead the Voice of America (VOA) Kari Lake was sworn in on Monday. She was named a special adviser for VOA’s parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) until she transitions to director of VOA after Trump’s nominee L. Brett Bozell III is confirmed by the Senate to lead USAGM. Known for her famous takedowns of the mainstream media over its bias, the former news anchorwoman and political candidate will face a significant amount of work dismantling the bias and bloat within the VOA. Lake posted on X, “I got sworn in today. Looking forward to serving America, streamlining the United States Agency of Global Media and everything it oversees.”

A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down two Arizona election integrity laws last week. HB 2492 and HB 2243, sponsored by Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) when he was in the State House, were enacted in 2022. Far left groups along with the DNC, the Arizona Democratic Party, and the Biden Administration’s DOJ Civil Rights Division filed lawsuits challenging the laws. HB 2492 required voters to provide documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) in order to vote in the presidential election or by mail, and in order to register to vote in state and local elections. HB 2243 required county recorders to regularly clean the voter rolls to remove noncitizens. The panel held that the laws violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Civil Rights Act State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) posted on X that he would be appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. “It's a new year but we have the same, old Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, playing familiar games of judicial activism,” he said in a press release. “Mere months after being overturned by the Supreme Court in this matter, the Ninth Circuit shockingly ignored the Constitution by blazing an independent trail to reach a very different conclusion. This radicalism undermines confidence in our judicial system, and it has negative consequences for the fabric of our Republic. Legislative Republicans are already working to return to the Supreme Court in defense of Arizona election integrity, and we intend to win.” 

Two candidates joined Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in the race to succeed Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, when both former State Senator Amanda Chase and former Delegate Dave LaRock made moves to enter the race. Framing herself as the candidate most closely aligned with President Donald Trump, Chase announced her candidacy on Wednesday morning, claiming she determined to run for office after hearing rumors about the Earle-Sears campaign that would purportedly lead to a loss against former Representative Abigail Spanberger, who is likely to become the Democratic nominee.

On the heels of obtaining confirmation the Trump administration will cease to allow the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) to manage the White House press pool, The Virginia Star publisher John Fredericks said the decision would destroy a "monopolistic, power-hungry cartel" that effectively managed media coverage of the president for more than "ten decades." In response to a question from Fredericks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the administration will be taking control over the rotating schedule for the White House press pool, giving new media outlets the opportunity to travel with the president on Air Force One, enter the East Room of the White House, and ask President Donald Trump questions during special events.

Some election integrity researchers are expanding their investigation of politicians who benefitted from questionable “Smurfing” campaign contributions, and discovered that Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) received many of them. Smurfing refers to the practice of using straw donors to make campaign contributions, usually elderly and unemployed people who are unaware their identities are being used for money laundering. There are many contributions made under one name, sometimes thousands of them, and they are usually small amounts, often around $10 each, in order to escape detection.  Peter Bernegger, one of the key researchers who discovered the Smurfing phenomenon, posted on X on Tuesday, “Arizona @SenRubenGallego caught Smurfing, i.e. criminally laundering money into his campaign! Note that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is a ‘quick’ data run of the top Smurfs found to have had their identities stolen by Gallego's campaign. Smurfing found by Chris Gleason @immutablechrist Phillip Allison @TheTVConsPiracy , myself and others exposing Smurfing. This is another form of election fraud. We are running all 100 US Senators, Tom Cotton and Jon Ossoff already ran - see the tweets below.”

Some election integrity researchers are expanding their investigation of politicians who benefitted from questionable “Smurfing” campaign contributions, and discovered that Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) received many of them. Smurfing refers to the practice of using straw donors to make campaign contributions, usually elderly and unemployed people who are unaware their identities are being used for money laundering. There are many contributions made under one name, sometimes thousands of them, and they are usually small amounts, often around $10 each, in order to escape detection.  Peter Bernegger, one of the key researchers who discovered the Smurfing phenomenon, posted on X on Tuesday, “Arizona @SenRubenGallego caught Smurfing, i.e. criminally laundering money into his campaign! Note that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is a ‘quick’ data run of the top Smurfs found to have had their identities stolen by Gallego's campaign. Smurfing found by Chris Gleason @immutablechrist Phillip Allison @TheTVConsPiracy , myself and others exposing Smurfing. This is another form of election fraud. We are running all 100 US Senators, Tom Cotton and Jon Ossoff already ran - see the tweets below.”