What is Jake Hoffman up to?
I received his calendar from a records request.
Senator Jake Hoffman is many things. A fake elector, a former troll farm operator (that earned him permanent social media suspensions), a fringe Republican who believes elections were stolen (they weren’t) and now he received the position of being the deciding vote on Gov. Katie Hobbs’ entire cabinet with his Committee on Director Nominations.
It’s a committee that has never existed before, but under Senate President Warren Petersen, it became a new committee to specifically vet Hobbs’ director nominations. It’s typically a seamless process where nearly every director prior to this year was approved rather handily in committee and on the Senate Floor (the House does not vote on nominees).
But now that politics is as divisive as it is and it’s a split government with a Democrat as governor with a Republican Legislature holding one-vote majorities everything Dems want to accomplish are that much more difficult.
Hoffman’s line of questions for some nominees has been called out for being sexist (he asks some questions of women he doesn’t ask of the men) and borderline harassment.
One of the first nominees to go before the committee was Dr. Theresa Cullen for the Department of Health Services. Hoffman and other Republicans downplayed the entire Covid pandemic and anything that resulted in protecting the lives of Arizonans despite horrible decisions at the peak of Covid that led to many Arizonans dying. Cullen held the top health role in Pima County, which is also a frequent target of Republicans because of its strong liberal lean, and she was targeted for her own responses to the pandemic during the committee hearing.
Hoffman’s committee recommended Cullen be rejected and she eventually withdrew from consideration just as the full Senate was about to vote against her.
One other nominee, Matthew Stewart, resigned before facing the hearing. He was appointed to the Department of Child Services. Hoffman claimed his committee was responsible, Hobbs claimed otherwise.
No records were able to show Hoffman nor his committee were able to dig up details about Stewart he claimed they had.
Multiple sources told me Hoffman would not communicate to the governor’s office which of her nominees would be scheduled for his committee, but that Hoffman’s assistant accidentally shared that Hoffman was only meeting with those he planned to schedule for hearings.
So I requested his calendars knowing it would show that information.
It did.
Here is a timeline of which nominees Hoffman met with in private, if/when they went before his committee, and other information. (The calendar records only go through March 5.)
February 7:
Hoffman met with Angie Rodgers, the nominee for the Department of Economic Security
Hoffman met with Karen Peters, nominee for the Department of Environmental Quality
Feb 8:
Hoffman met with Cullen
Hoffman met with Rodgers (it’s unclear if again or if the first meeting was canceled)
Hoffman met with Peters (same as above)
Feb 9:
The Director Nominee committee scheduled all three women; rejected Cullen, approved Rodgers and withdrew Peters from agenda1.
Feb 16:
Hoffman met with Elizabeth Thorson, nominee for the Department of Administration
Feb 20:
Thorson scheduled for committee hearing. Her vote was placed on hold.
Jennifer Toth, the nominee for the Department of Transportation, was also on the agenda and approved by the committee. She was officially approved on Feb 21, but it doesn’t appear she ever met one-on-one with Hoffman.
Hoffman and Republicans vote to no longer allow nominees to use electronic devices during the committee out of apparent belief Hobbs and her office were coaching them through the questions. Records show that wasn’t happening.
Feb 27:
Hoffman met with Thomas Torres, the nominee for the Department of Forestry and Fire Management
Feb 28:
Hoffman met with Jeffery Glover, nominee for the Department of Public Safety
March 2:
Hoffman met with Dana Allmond, nominee for the Department of Veterans Affairs
March 20:
Torres and Glover scheduled for committee hearing; both confirmed unanimously
The only nominee Hoffman met with that was not scheduled for a hearing yet was Allmond (though Peters was scheduled twice and withdrawn from the agenda).
It’s unclear if Hoffman met with other nominees since March 5 or when his committee will meet again, but I plan to stay on this.
See Hoffman’s calendars thus far here.
Peters was scheduled again for the Feb 20 meeting, but again was withdrawn. No news on her candidacy yet, but it’s ironic given Hoffman and Petersen called out Hobbs for not being prompt enough with sending her nominations to the Senate. Directors can legally serve for up to one full year without being confirmed by the Senate.
"Senator Jake Hoffman is many things. A fake elector, a former troll farm operator (that earned him permanent social media suspensions), a fringe Republican who believes elections were stolen..."
East Valley voters always disappoint.