Arizona
As Trump celebrates birthday with military parade, Arizona protesters ‘build the resistance’
‘No Kings’ rally in Phoenix blasts Trump administration policies
Protester Chris Francis discusses why he’s participating in the “No Kings” rally at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on June 14, 2025.
While military tanks prepared to roll down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th Anniversary, a different army was building at the Arizona Capitol.
Thousands of Arizonans flooded the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza and braved triple-degree heat on June 14. They gathered to protest Trump and draw attention to what they called his authoritarian and king-like behavior.
“He wants to be a pretend king, but he’s following all the rules of a dictator! And he’s slowing picking out people he wants us to villainize,” Randy Hamilton, 78, said.
Parents pushing their children in strollers and seniors with walkers chanted against the president and watched drag queens perform as music blasted in the background. They held signs that said things like, “Unpaid protester but I hate Trump for free,” and “No Crown for the Clown.”
At the same time, musicians and live entertainment took the stage in D.C. for the inaugural military parade.
The “No Kings Day of Defiance” in Phoenix was one of more than 2,000 planned events across the United States. The event was meant to poke fun at Trump as he kicked off an expensive parade on his 79th birthday.
Erica Connell, a liaison for the 50501 movement that helped organize the event, said it was meant to build community before the summer heat would make it too difficult.
“We’ll have more policy-driven events in the future, but right now, it’s just so broad that it’s about building the resistance. It’s about making sure that we have the numbers,” Connell said.
Elected officials like Phoenix Councilwoman Anna Hernandez spoke to the crowd from onstage, telling attendees “revolution” was the “acceptable response to fascism.”
“It is not for us to take a more moderate approach to policy. It is not to take a moderate approach to politics,” Hernandez yelled to an uproar of applause. “It is revolution, and it is to invest in our communities!”
‘I don’t want to lose our democracy’
Attendees almost uniformly gave the same response when asked what brought them out: opposition to Trump. He’s acting like he’s king, protesters told The Arizona Republic. Congress isn’t standing up against him. The courts aren’t doing enough to rein him in.
Swanson, 88 and from Ahwatukee, attended against the wishes of her adult children, who feared for her safety. Swanson said she felt like she had to go.
“I don’t want to lose our democracy. Something dramatic has to be done,” she said. Swanson’s neighbor, 66-year old Stephanie Drobatschewsky, felt the same. Drobatschewsky said both her parents were Holocaust survivors, and that Trump’s immigration round-ups reminded her of World War II Germany.
Robert Lang, 64, said he hoped the number of protests taking place across the country showed elected leaders that change was wanted.
Attendees repeatedly echoed each other in the changes they wanted to see: for Donald Trump to resign or be impeached; to stop threatening Social Security and Medicare; for more humane treatment of immigrants; to reject attacks against the U.S. Department of Education, PBS and National Public Radio.
Connell, a main planner of the Phoenix protest, said the overarching demand was to “uphold the constitution.”
Up next: resistance at the neighborhood level
Connell said organizers conceived of a carnival-themed event partially to “have fun making fun of (Trump) on his birthday” and also partially to attract families.
“We’ve had very specific goals in mind and growing the movement in our state by hitting those various demographics in what we’re doing,” Connell said.
Organizers planned educational events and wanted attendees to identify causes they cared about, then connect with groups working on those issues. They focused on “inspiring and teaching people how to become activists on their own corner,” Connell said, “because that’s how we’re trying to grow the movement.“
Hernandez, the Phoenix councilwoman known for fiery rhetoric, was added to the speaker list to give more of a rally feel. Her speech amplified the crowd as she spoke about Trump “hunting” the public.
“Let me be clear: He is hunting us,” Hernandez said. “From Palestinian protesters to students to immigrant communities, we are under attack. His ICE minions are in our neighborhoods, our stores, our workplaces and our homes.”
Parents: Protest can be positive and powerful at any age
South of the stage, kids played in bounce houses while grown men dressed in chicken costumes. They held signs saying “TACO,” a nod to the joke about tariffs that, “Trump always chickens out.”
Jules and Audra Nelson stayed near the stage with their three children, who were 10, 8 and 3. The Nelsons brought their two sons and daughter to show them that protest could be a positive and powerful force for change.
The kids had seen the protests in L.A. and Audra said she wanted them to understand “when people come together, it’s really positive.”
She said she wanted her kids to know they weren’t “bound by their age,” and that young people had been “key catalysts of the civil rights movement.”
“Resistance is little pieces at a time. It doesn’t have to be big. It can just be you saying, ‘I’m not OK with this,’” Audra said. “Sometimes we think we’re so small, but we are so big.”
Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.
Seely’s role is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Arizona
NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review
As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.
Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.
The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.
Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce
Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.
“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”
Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.
Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.
Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.
PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.
“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.
Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.
Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.
Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.
Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.
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