Gov. Katie Hobbs will send only 16 of her 19 “executive deputy directors” to the Senate to be nominated again after making an agreement with Senate leadership earlier this week to end a lawsuit over the dispute.

According to Hobbs’ communications director Christian Slater, David Lujan at the Department of Child Safety, Karen Peters at the Department of Environmental Quality and Dana Allmond at the Department of Veterans’ Services will not be renominated as directors. Slater said the Senate refused to compromise on those appointments in negotiations. 

“With the re-nominations, the Governor is delivering on her promise to put aside partisan politics and deliver sanity and stability to state government,” Slater said in a written statement. “Moving forward, she expects a fair confirmation process, not a political circus, and stands ready to work with anybody in the senate who will join her in putting everyday Arizona families over partisan games.” 

After a long and tumultuous director nomination process last year, Hobbs’ pulled her remaining director nominees from consideration in September 2023. She then appointed those nominees as “executive deputy directors.”

Senate Republicans sued Hobbs, saying she could not circumvent the nomination process and that the actions of the executive deputy directors would not be valid. A judge initially agreed that Hobbs’ appointments were illegal, but eventually declined to rule on whether the actions of the directors could be challenged. 

Hobbs and Senate leadership have agreed to restart the confirmation process when the Legislature returns in January. Ben Henderson, Hobbs’ director of operations, will be appointed interim director of DCS and ADEQ, while John Scott will be appointed director of ADVS. 

Lujan, Peters and Allmond will instead serve as deputy directors of their respective departments. In his statement, Slater defended Hobbs’ nominees and their time as executive deputy directors.

“Governor Hobbs nominated well-qualified agency directors selected through a bipartisan process,” Slater said. “From day one, they’ve been laser-focused on delivering results for everyday Arizonans, and state agencies will continue doing just that.”

One of the executive deputy directors who will be sent back to the Senate for renomination was already rejected by the Senate Committee on Director Nominations. Joan Serviss of the Arizona Department of Housing was criticized by Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman for alleged plagiarism and her rejection led Hobbs to withdraw her nominees and appoint the executive deputy directors. 

Slater said Senate leadership only named Lujan, Peters and Allmond as no-gos and said any questions about the remaining nominees would have to be directed to Senate Republicans. 

However, the committee the nominees face in January could be drastically different depending on the results of the election. Democrats are hoping to take control of the Senate and politicians on both sides of the aisle are eyeing a potential 15-15 split. 

Either way, the Senate will have to confirm the rest of Hobbs’ director nominations before the end of the 2025 legislative session.