Kelly Ayotte (R) used her first move as governor of New Hampshire to make the state’s government more efficient, emulating the incoming Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Ayotte created the Commission of Government Efficiency with the goal of tackling the state’s incoming budget problems.
“Signed my first Executive Order to create the Commission on Government Efficiency – or as I like to call it, “COGE”! We’re going to roll up our sleeves and find ways to streamline government, cut spending, and create value for our taxpayers,” Ayotte said in a post on X.
Ayotte held her inaugural address Thursday, saying, “We are going to have to look to find better ways to do things with fewer dollars.”
She also thanked the outgoing governor, Chris Sununu.
“New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that after four terms at the helm than Gov. Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor,” Ayotte said.
New Hampshire Democrats are already dreading the budget cuts, which come as the state is experiencing a shortfall because federal COVID-19 relief funding is drying up and has received less business revenue.
“Governor Ayotte hasn’t been in office for a full twenty-four hours yet, and she is already laying the groundwork for massive budget cuts to services that people rely on. This is all thanks to years of failed Republican policies she championed,” said longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley.
“Throughout her speech, one thing became clear — Kelly Ayotte is taking a page out of the Donald Trump playbook,” Buckley said. “Gov. Ayotte is following in Trump’s footsteps and setting on a dangerous and costly path for New Hampshire.”
Ayotte’s decision to form the committee is likely based on her promise not to enforce any income or sales tax on New Hampshire residents. The lack of tax revenue forces the governing Republicans to be more creative about where the state’s budget comes from.
Ayotte will present her proposed budget in February, which will then go through the state House and Senate before she signs it. So far, state agencies’ budget request submissions have totaled $16.9 billion, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
A significant expense for the state has been the large number of lawsuits alleging abuse at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, the state’s youth detention center. The lawsuits are estimated to have cost “hundreds of millions of dollars,” and over 400 cases are still outstanding.
Another cause of the possible budget shortfall is the phasing out of a tax on certain earnings, such as stocks, which were paid by 13% of the state’s residents. Most of them had high incomes.
Democrats want to make progress on education, housing, and healthcare, which will be difficult if the state has to manage a razor-thin budget. One particular focus is emergency medical care, especially in rural areas of the state.
Ayotte defeated former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig 53.61% to 44.27% in the November election. She likely rode her name recognition as the state’s former senator and Sununu’s endorsement to victory.
Republicans are praising Ayotte’s COGE initiative, which seems to be modeled after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s DOGE.
“I think it’s a brilliant approach,” Republican Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais told Fox News.
“Appointing a commission like this to go after any kind of bloat, I think, is a perfect approach and certainly going to be really beneficial for state government and also certainly helps us downstream at the local level as well,” Ruais said.
Despite Democrats’ disappointment with her new budget cut announcement, Ayotte pledged to work with them.
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“My door is always open. Good government knows no party,” she said.
“I am going to be a governor for you, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, you name it. Because our state is so much bigger than a party or an ideology,” Ayotte added.