On Wednesday evening, the Arizona treasurer announced that she would serve as acting governor beginning later that evening until mid-morning Thursday, amid a short absence from Gov. Katie Hobbs.

In a press release on X, formerly known as Twitter, Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee announced her brief tenure as acting governor, saying that she is “pleased to step in this role.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The Republican state treasurer noted that during her less than 24 hours as acting governor she would refrain from confirming the 13 agencies that still hold vacancies and wait for the Democratic governor to fill them upon her return.

“While I am pleased to step in this role, I will refrain from naming directors to the 13 agencies that currently have vacancies and will not call the Arizona Legislature into session to confirm them,” Yee said in an X post. “That being said, I do hope when the Governor returns to Arizona, she will promptly name qualified directors to these important state agencies.”

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“I expect to see a quick resolution on this matter, so we can get the work done for Arizona taxpayers,” Yee added.

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Hobbs’ Communication Director Christian Slater explained that Arizona’s constitution requires the Governor to be in Arizona and the next person in line becomes acting governor. 

Since Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor and Arizona’s Attorney General and Secretary of State were also out of state, the responsibility fell to Yee.

Arizona State Capitol Building, Phoenix. ( Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Yee’s office explained why the treasurer would be acting governor since Hobbs was out of state.

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“On background, Arizona law states that when the Governor is out of state, the next elected official in line serves as acting Governor. In this case, the Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General will all be out of the state leaving Treasurer Yee as acting Governor.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article stated Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs “mysteriously” stepped down for one day. It has since been updated with an explanation.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, confronted one of President Biden’s nominees for a senior Defense Department position on Thursday concerning another administration official who was implicated this week in an Iranian influence operation on the U.S. government.

The exchange came during the Senate confirmation hearing for State Department counselor Derek Chollet to be the new DoD Under Secretary for Policy, when Ernst demanded answers on how Dr. Ariane Tabatabai, a senior policy advisor at the DoD who formerly worked at the State Department, was able to get, and keep, a security clearance considering her alleged involvement in the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), an Iranian government operation to improve the country’s image abroad, according to a report by Semafor.

“I didn’t think the Biden admin’s appeasement of Iran could get worse. Today, I confronted them on allowing an Iranian spy to infiltrate and work at the Pentagon. They DEFENDED it. Unbelievable!” Ernst wrote on X following the hearing, including a video of her pressing Chollet on Tabatabai’s security clearance, which she noted remains in effect.

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According to a Tuesday report by Semafor, a digital news website, Tabatabai was one of the “influential overseas academics” the program sought to build ties with in its quest to “bolster” Iran’s “image and positions on global security issues — particularly its nuclear program.”

The report said that a trove of Iranian government correspondence obtained by the outlet showed Tabatabai “checked in” with the Iranian Foreign Ministry on at least two occasions prior to attending security policy events, and even shared with them plans for her to testify on the Iranian nuclear deal before Congress.

“Do you believe it is prudent to have an individual with a history of conferring with Iranian officials in a highly sensitive role related to counterterrorism and special operations?” Ernst asked Chollet, noting Tabatabai was hired and received her security clearance at the State Department during his tenure as its counselor.

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Dr. Ariane Tabatabai (left) and Sen. Jon Ernst, R-Iowa (right). (C-SPAN/Getty Images)

“I know nothing about this particular instance. I only know what I have read in the press. All I can say is, given my experience at the Defense Department, as well as the State Department and the Security Council, anyone who serves in a position of national security has to go through a rigorous background check. But other than that, I know nothing about this episode,” Chollet responded.

However, Ernst continued to press him, asking if he thought it “would be prudent to suspend her clearance” in light of the allegations. But Chollet continued to deny he had any knowledge of the situation involving Tabatabai.

When asked what he would do to prevent officials from further engaging with foreign governments in the way Tabatabai has allegedly done, Chollet said he “would expect that that sort of behavior would stop if it was ever uncovered.”

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Department of State Counselor Derek Chollet speaks during a press conference in Manila on July 17, 2023. (JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Pentagon told Fox News Digital, “Dr. Tabatabai was thoroughly and properly vetted as a condition of her employment with the Department of Defense. We are honored to have her serve.” The spokesperson did not address the allegations against Tabatabai.

Semafor reported Thursday that the Pentagon had opened a probe into Tabatabai, citing her boss, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Chris Maier, telling Congress the department was “actively looking into whether all law and policy was properly followed in granting my chief of staff top secret special compartmented information.”

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Fox News Digital has also reached out the State Department for comment.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued three subpoenas Thursday night for the personal and business bank records belonging to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and brother, James Biden, as part of the House impeachment inquiry.

Comer, R-Ky., who signaled earlier this month his intention to subpoena those records, did so just hours after the first hearing as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Fox News Digital reviewed the subpoenas. The subpoenas have redactions over the names of the banks. It is unclear which financial institutions were subpoenaed for these records.

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The subpoenas compel records, including account statements, direct deposits, deposits, cashier checks, wire transfers, electronic transfer payments, credit and debit card records, loan documents and other records related to Hunter Biden; his shell companies Owasco, P.C. and Owasco, LLC; Skaneateles; business associate Eric Schwerin; James Biden; Lion Hall Group, LLC: and JBBSR, Inc.

“From day one of our investigation of Joe Biden’s abuse of public office, we’ve followed the money and that continues with today’s subpoenas for Hunter and James Biden’s bank records,” Comer said Thursday night. “Bank records don’t lie, and coupled with witness testimony, they reveal that Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.”

Comer said the financial records that his committee has obtained to date “reveal a pattern where the Bidens sold access to Joe Biden around the world to enrich the Biden family.”

President Biden, left, and his son Hunter Biden, right.  (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

“As the Bidens were sealing deals around the world, Joe Biden showed up, met with, talked with, shook hands with, and had meetings with the foreign nationals sending money to his family. This culture of corruption demands further investigation,” Comer said.  “The Oversight Committee, as well as the Committees on the Judiciary and Ways and Means, will continue to follow the money to determine whether President Biden’s involvement in his family’s corrupt business schemes makes him compromised and threatens our national security.”

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Comer vowed to provide “the answers, transparency, and accountability that the American people demand and deserve.”

The subpoenas also come after Fox News Digital first reported that the House Oversight Committee has learned that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by “selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world.”

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, said he believes the ongoing investigations into Hunter Biden by House Republicans have been given more credibility after a plea deal for the president’s son fell apart on Wednesday. (Mandel NGAN/AFP, Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., added that President Biden “was not just aware of his son’s business dealings, but in fact he was connected to them, it has become clear that whether it was lunches, phone calls, White House meetings, or official foreign trips, Hunter Biden cashed in by arranging access to his father.”

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“While top Biden officials, Hunter’s lawyers, and congressional Democrats have offered little more than disinformation and lies, these bank records will bring us closer to the truth,” Smith said. “Issuing these subpoenas is an appropriate – and necessary – step to following the facts wherever they lead, and may shed light on the $24 million the Biden family has received in exchange for selling their family ‘brand’ as part of a global influence peddling scheme.”

The White House maintains that President Biden was never in business with his son and never discussed business with his son or his family. White House officials have blasted the impeachment inquiry against the president as an “evidence-free” political stunt.