Warren Petersen, a Republican elected to the Arizona State Senate in 2023 representing the 14th District, has criticized Senators Gallego and Kelly over their handling of the recent federal government shutdown. In a series of posts on his social media account, Petersen accused both senators of prioritizing party politics over constituents.
On October 2, 2025, Petersen stated: “Senators Gallego and Kelly have failed AZ and chosen politics over people! They could be part of the solution but have chosen to blindly follow their party. The federal shutdown is due to Senate Democrats. The House passed a clean resolution, but Senate Democrats are holding”.
On October 4, Petersen continued his criticism by writing: “You are costing the state of AZ millions for willingly shutting down the govt. You should have been one of the democrats who worked in a bipartisan manner and voted to keep it open with a clean CR. Enjoy your last term in office.”
Petersen’s comments come amid ongoing debates regarding responsibility for federal government funding lapses. As context, he succeeded David Gowan as senator for Arizona’s 14th District after being elected in 2023.
