Gov. Hobbs ties Colorado River fight to national security, blames GOP for budget impasse

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs made her most direct case yet for federal intervention in Colorado River negotiations to KTAR 92.3 FM Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos, arguing that Arizona’s water supply underpins the nation’s defense, food and technology sectors.

“No other state can make that economic case, that national security case that Arizona can make on Colorado River water,” Hobbs said. She cited Arizona-made semiconductors, Tomahawk missile production and the state’s role supplying 90% of the nation’s winter leafy greens, all dependent on groundwater and canal-delivered Colorado River water.

The remarks echo a pitch Hobbs is making directly to the Trump administration, according to the Tucson Star, as seven Western states remain deadlocked over how to divide a shrinking river.

Asked whether she has been muting her criticism of the Iran war to stay in Trump’s good graces on water, a dynamic reported by Politico last week, Hobbs did not deny the calculation, pivoting instead to the war’s economic toll on Arizona consumers.

“I am always focused on doing what’s right for Arizonans. And right now we are at a really critical point in our Colorado River negotiations. I’ve been very vocal on asking the federal government to step in and support Arizona’s position, making sure that we get the share of Colorado River water that we are owed, and that is critical to the President’s agenda,” she said.

On the state budget, Gov. hopes to ‘set the record straight’

On the state budget, Hobbs rejected claims by Republican legislative leaders that she walked away from negotiations.

“I’m going to set the record straight right here,” she said. “I put out my budget in early January as required. My budget’s been on the table, my priorities — everyone in Arizona can see them.”

She accused Republicans of blocking progress without offering an alternative.

“All the Republicans in the legislature have done is say, ‘That’s not a balanced budget, we can’t do that.’ Then they keep sending me irresponsible tax breaks for special interests and billionaires without showing Arizonans how they’re going to pay for that … I don’t know how to negotiate with people who won’t show us a plan of how they want to balance the budget,” she said.

The budget impasse also blocks any suspension of the state gas tax, which Hobbs said requires legislative action.

She called the issue “complicated” and said a federal gas-tax holiday proposed by Sen. Mark Kelly would deliver greater relief with fewer consequences for Arizona’s transportation infrastructure.

She pointed to gas prices, tariffs, Medicaid cuts and the elimination of ACA tax credits as compounding cost pressures.

“This is a president who ran and won, he says, because prices were too high, and he’s doing the exact opposite of trying to lower them,” she said.

What is Hobbs hearing on the campaign trail?

As Hobbs campaigns for re-election, that affordability is the dominant issue on voters’ minds.

“I am hearing about costs, whether that’s higher gas prices right now, tariffs that are impacting everything, small businesses, prices at the grocery store, you name it,” she said.

She listed border security as a secondary concern to voters, but still important.

“From a lot of Arizonans, border security has been a top issue. It remains a top issue,” she said. “Right now, most people would tell you the border is pretty secure. I would agree with that. But we can’t take our foot off the gas in terms of, ‘We solved this problem, it’s gone away.’ If we walk away from it, then we have problems again.”

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