Governor Katie Hobbs has once again proven that Democrat leadership is a risky gamble when it comes to the security of American land and critical infrastructure. After vetoing a targeted bill aimed specifically at blocking land purchases by entities linked directly to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hobbs has unveiled her own sweeping proposal, the so-called Blocking Adversarial Nations Act.
Now, while Hobbs would have you believe her new legislation is tougher and more comprehensive, conservatives should see right through this maneuver. Her decision to veto Senate Bill 1109, a Republican-backed measure explicitly aimed at curbing CCP influence, was not only reckless but revealed a dangerous lack of willingness to stand firm against America’s most cunning geopolitical foe.
Senate Bill 1109, criticized by Hobbs as “weak and spineless,” in reality had precise aims. It would have severely restricted Chinese entities from purchasing land near Arizona’s military bases, semiconductor plants, and nuclear facilities—places where infiltration could be catastrophic. Kari Lake, Hobbs’s former gubernatorial opponent, put it plainly when she told Fox News: “It wasn’t just about military bases. There’s also strategic assets mentioned in this legislation, including the new Taiwanese semiconductor factories in Phoenix, we’ve got the biggest nuclear power plant… all areas that would have catastrophic implications if infiltrated by the CCP.”
Hobbs’s alternative, however, casts a wide net and lumps in nations such as Russia, North Korea, and Iran. While expanding the scope to other adversarial nations might look robust, Hobbs has effectively diluted the specific urgency of confronting China’s aggressive infiltration tactics. Republicans rightly argue that the threat from China is uniquely acute, given the CCP’s explicit strategy of economic espionage and its well-documented history of undermining American interests.
Moreover, Hobbs’s record of vetoes demonstrates a troubling pattern of dismissing practical, targeted security measures in favor of vague, broad-stroke legislative gestures. She has also vetoed House Bill 2693, which aimed to restrict the use of genetic sequencing technology produced by companies tied to adversarial nations, especially China. This bill was critical—it would have prevented sensitive genetic data of Arizonans from falling into CCP-controlled hands. Yet Hobbs brushed it off as “unnecessary,” providing no elaboration for her dismissal of such a clear security threat.
Similarly, Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1027, tailored to prohibit the use of Chinese-manufactured telecommunications technology. The threat here is undeniable. Chinese telecom companies like Huawei have been notoriously implicated in espionage operations. The Epoch Times has reported extensively on CCP-linked firms exploiting technology to spy on and disrupt American military communications. Yet Hobbs dismissed this bill, too, claiming it would impose undue burdens on business. In other words, she prioritized convenience over national security.
While Hobbs did sign House Bill 2109, known as the Arizona End Organ Harvesting Act, into law—a measure prohibiting state insurance funds from going to CCP-linked organ transplant industries—her inconsistency is alarming. She initially vetoed a similar bill in 2024, only supporting it later when political pressure became overwhelming. This flip-flopping raises serious questions about Hobbs’s willingness to consistently stand against CCP abuses without political prodding.
Arizona Republicans are rightly skeptical of Hobbs’s newfound stand against foreign land ownership. Senate President Warren Petersen plans to push for an override of Hobbs’s veto of SB 1109, but this will require Democrat support—support which was utterly absent when the bill initially passed. Conservatives must hold Arizona Democrats accountable. Their votes will reveal whether they prioritize partisan politics over the safety and sovereignty of their state and country.
It is not yet clear whether Hobbs will introduce revised versions of the genetic sequencing or telecom bills. But one thing remains clear: conservatives cannot trust Hobbs to reliably prioritize American security over political optics. Her track record speaks louder than her latest legislative gestures. Arizona deserves leadership that will uncompromisingly and specifically defend against threats from China and other adversaries—not leadership that waters down essential protections in the name of vague political expediency.
