Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey was selected as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2021. He’ll be co-chair in 2022 along with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Ducey has an anti-Trump streak and also has issues when it comes to signing conservative legislation.
He vetoed 22 bills despite saying some are “good policy.”
“But with one month left until the end of the fiscal year, we need to focus first on passing a budget,” he wrote. “That should be priority one. The other stuff can wait.”
Among the bills Ducey vetoed – election integrity and a bill that would prohibit entities from using taxpayer funds to promote Critical Race Theory.
House Bill 2792 prohibited the mass mailing of ballots to residents who do not request them. Ducey vetoed that bill on May 28.
Senate Bill 1074, which prohibits the CRT training of government workers, was also vetoed.
Rusty Bowers, the GOP House Speaker, said he was “not happy” about Ducey’s vetoes, but said it is a “civics lesson reminder.”
Kelli Ward, the GOP chairman of Arizona, called it a “tyrannical approach” that is “dangerous” to what the people of Arizona support.
Ducey has been heavily criticized by President Donald J. Trump for “betraying” the people of Arizona.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was extended in her role as vice chair for the Republican Governors Association.
