Gov. Katie Hobbs won’t use state resources to help out at the Grand Canyon even if there is a ripple effect on the Arizona economy.

The governor on Friday lashed out at the “rash and irrational decisions” by the Trump administration in cutting federal spending. And Hobbs said the state has taken action where she believes the state has legal standing to challenge them.

But that, she said, doesn’t include having the state take a role to deal with the 1,000 employees of the National Parks Service who have been laid off. That includes 10 at the Grand Canyon, with the governor’s office saying four of them were working the entrance, which has led to longer wait times, a fact that has become highly publicized.

Hobbs, in a social media post last week, called all that “a slap in the face for Arizonans and all who love to come here.”

“Last year, nearly 5 million people visited Grand Canyon National Park,” she wrote. “The Trump administration’s removal of essential workers undermines our economy and ability to showcase one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.”

But the governor said Friday the state won’t help out, even if that would mean easing the lines, helping visitors and protecting the economy. And the key is who picks up the tab.

“You’re talking about using state dollars to pay federal workers,” Hobbs said.

“There is no guarantee that we would be reimbursed for that,” she said. “I certainly am not interested in bailing out the Trump administration for dumb decisions they make, like cutting off funding and staff for one of the largest tourist attractions in the country.”

There is, however, precedent for state intervention.

In 1995 the park, and others across the nation, were closed when Congress failed to enact a budget for the new fiscal year.

Then-Gov. Fife Symington initially sent a contingent of National Guard troops and state park officials to reopen the park in what was widely seen as a media event. They were turned away.

But Symington did manage to strike a deal with the Park Service ahead of a second showdown that year to have the state front the $17,000-a-day cost of keeping part of the park available to visitors. That continued for 21 days.

The purpose, the former governor said at the time, was to prevent the closure from causing greater harm to the Arizona economy.

What’s happening now is a bit different. The park technically remains open.

But word of the delays here and elsewhere has become a national story. And that raises the concern that some people who otherwise would visit the park will choose to stay away until the situation is resolved.

“Yes, the Grand Canyon is a very important tourist destination for Arizona’s economy,” Hobbs said.

“It brings jobs, it brings people spending money here.”

The governor said, however, that without the promise of reimbursement from the feds she’s not interested in having the state involved in easing those lines.

Hobbs brushed aside a question of whether there was something else in her decision not to intercede, including that having the parks in chaos looks bad for Trump.

“That’s not a consideration,” she said. What is, Hobbs said, is whether she believes that doing so is “what’s best for Arizonans.”

“When there’s opportunity to work with the Trump administration, like on border security, we will,” the governor said. “When they’re making decisions that are bad for Arizonans, I’m going to speak up about them.”

There is precedent for the governor’s question of reimbursement.

When Symington inked his deal with the feds in 1995 he got a commitment for the state to get back its up-front costs when Congress finally adopted a budget.

That also occurred in 2018 when then-Gov. Doug Ducey had a similar agreement with the National Park Service to use funds from the state’s Parks and Tourism departments.

And Jan Brewer, his predecessor, spent $651,000 to keep the canyon open during a federal government shutdown in 2013.

But there’s a key difference.

In the prior cases, the parks were closed temporarily while the president and Congress were negotiating a new budget. And there never was any question that the parks, which were legally unable to operate without a signed federal budget, would reopen afterwards.

In this case, however, the Trump administration has simply ordered wholesale cuts in the funding of the Parks Service and a host of other government agencies, with no understanding of restoring funds in the future.