Something incredibly strange just happened in the State of Arizona. Governor Katie Hobbs abruptly stepped down from office for one night and part of the next day. The people of Arizona only found out about the surprise move when State Treasurer Kimberly Lee made the announcement on Twitter:
I have been notified that I will be serving as Acting Governor beginning later this evening until mid-morning tomorrow. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/sSuiSCebk4
— Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee (@AZTreasurerYee) September 27, 2023
Yee didn’t seem to know the reason why she was suddenly the governor of Arizona for a night. There are a couple of really odd things about this.
First, Yee is actually fourth in line for the governorship in Arizona. The order of succession for the governor of Arizona is Secretary of State, Attorney General, and then State Treasurer. Why wasn’t the Secretary of State or the Attorney General available to fill in instead of Kimberly Yee?
Does anyone else find it odd that Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes were all unavailable to fill the governor’s role? Especially since the three of them have been embroiled in controversy ever since they were the beneficiaries of the stolen 2022 midterm elections. What are they all doing?
Second, why didn’t Hobbs’ office make the announcement that she’d be stepping down for a night? No one in the administration said anything about this, and the people only found out about it when Kimberly Yee made a statement.
Speculation is running rampant on the internet because the Governor’s office left everyone in the dark. Some are saying that Hobbs had an emergency appendectomy. Others are saying that Hobbs, Fontes, and Mayes were all out of state at the same time.
It’s too bad that Kimberly Yee didn’t take advantage of her brief time as Arizona Governor. She would have been completely within her rights to appoint a bunch of Republicans to state positions while the leftwing governor is indisposed. That would have been hilarious.