In an exclusive and candid conversation with the Arizona Globe during the Arizona Federation of Republican Women’s Summer Meeting today, June 21, 2025, Senate President Warren Petersen (R-14) confirmed that his Chief of Staff, Josh Kredit, was fully “within his rights” to publish a behind-the-scenes account of the ongoing budget drama between the Arizona House and Senate. Petersen’s statement of support caps the backdrop of a social media firestorm highlighted by tweets calling out Kredit, such as the one from Senator Jake Hoffman (R-15)

“He did not go rogue,” Petersen said firmly. “He was there for the entire negotiations and he had a right to correct the record.”

Petersen’s comments follow a social media post by his Chief of Staff that ignited a flurry of speculation about internal GOP tensions. The post, shared on X, included a letter addressed to House Republicans and detailed the timeline and substance of the Senate’s budget negotiations—painting a narrative in which the Senate had acted in good faith while the House failed to engage.

“For those watching or interested in the Arizona Capitol budget debate, I just sent this email to House Republicans,” the post began. What followed was a rare glimpse into the legislative back-and-forth behind Arizona’s 2025 budget.

“The Senate tried for months to work with the House Appropriations Chair to negotiate a budget,” the letter stated. “On one hand, House leadership was telling their members there was no capacity for new initiatives this year. Yet when we met with the House, they wanted to decide how to spend all the taxpayer dollars surplus, leaving no capacity for the Senate or Governor’s office.”

According to the Chief of Staff’s account, when the House began meeting privately with the Governor’s Office to discuss revenue and spending in late May, the Senate followed suit. Talks between the Senate and the Governor led to several meetings, and eventually, the Senate reached out once more to the House to invite them into the discussions.

“The Senate never heard back,” the letter claims.

Faced with looming deadlines and no formal engagement from the House, the Senate moved forward. “It did what it had to do and negotiated a budget, and at the same time fought for and secured Republican priorities,” the email read. Among those priorities are increased funding for public safety, border security, K-12 education, Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), school choice protections, and tax cuts.

Despite accusations that the Senate had steamrolled the House out of the process, the Chief of Staff said the Senate left $90 million of capacity “for their member budget requests.”

“At one point, the question came up as to whether the budget should be sent to the House with some work still to be done so that the House could make its own impact on it,” the message continued. “However, House leadership communicated that it wanted all of its member requests put in the budget and to then send it over essentially completed.”

“So that is what happened,” the email concluded.

Petersen confirmed the Chief of Staff’s account was an effort to “correct the record,” after what he characterized as an incomplete press release circulated by the House the day before.

“I know for a fact that the House is meeting right now with the Governor’s Office,” the Chief of Staff wrote in his final note. “Many remain hopeful that a positive resolution is still possible in all of this.”

The Globe reached out to the Chief of Staff, who said, “Honestly, after I saw that House press release yesterday, I just couldn’t take it any longer. The facts matter.”

At the Republican Women’s event, there appeared to be genuine goodwill between Petersen and House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro (R-29). Neither addressed the ongoing budget dispute, signaling a shared desire to move past tensions and promote unity within the Republican Party.

House Speaker Steve Montenegro speaks at the Arizona Federation of Republican Women’s Summer Meeting on June 21, 2025, as Senate President Warren Petersen watches (Photo: Christy Kelly for Arizona Globe)The Globe will continue to monitor this developing story and provide updates as the budget deadline approaches.