¶ Overview
In 2025, Kelly Ayotte supported Trump and Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” agenda and created New Hampshire’s DOGE-style Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE), which focused on cutting programs and shrinking government. Her DOGE-style commission drew criticism for conflicts of interest, after Democratic leaders said the panel was stacked with her political donors and designed to curry favor with Trump and Musk. Trump’s DOGE put nearly 9,000 federal workers in New Hampshire at risk, threatening local economies and public services. Under Ayotte’s leadership, New Hampshire repeatedly refused to challenge the Trump administration’s cuts to New Hampshire public schools, public health programs, and the Squam Lakes Association.
Governor Kelly Ayotte continued her DOGE-style commission, even as the federal DOGE effort triggered mass layoffs, service disruptions, and system failures at the Social Security Administration, which more than 343,000 Granite Staters relied on for benefits. In 2015, Ayotte endorsed raising the Social Security retirement age, a change that would have forced Americans to wait longer to receive earned benefits.
¶ In 2025, Governor Kelly Ayotte Created A DOGE-Style Commission That Reflected Trump And Musk’s DOGE, As Federal DOGE Policies Resulted In Funding Cuts And The Mass Layoff Of Granite Staters
¶ Kelly Ayotte Created A Statewide Efficiency Commission That Mirrored Trump’s Federal Department Of Government Efficiency
¶ Kelly Ayotte Used Her First Executive Order To Create A DOGE-Style Commission Tasked With Cutting State Programs
HEADLINE: “Kelly Ayotte's COGE Holds First Meeting: What To Know About The DOGE Copy In New Hampshire” [Seacoast Online, 2/27/25]
January 2025: Kelly Ayotte Used Her First Executive Order To Create The Commission On Government Efficiency (COGE) Focused On Cutting State Programs And Shrinking Government Operations. According to Kelly Ayotte’s Twitter, “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.”
[Twitter, @KellyAyotte, 1/9/25]
2025: Kelly Ayotte Directed COGE To Propose Program Cuts And Eliminations Across State Government While Retaining Final Approval Authority. According to Seacoast Online, “‘COGE will put proposals on my desk to streamline government, cut spending, and ensure we’re doing everything we can to create value for taxpayers,’ Ayotte said. Ayotte said that COGE will find programs to reduce or eliminate to deal with a revenue shortfall in the state. ‘We need to make sure that government is operating more like the lean process in manufacturing, where waste is eliminated at each stage in the process, to produce better results,’ she said in her first speech as governor.” [Seacoast Online, 2/27/25]
- 2025: Kelly Ayotte Ensured COGE Could Not Implement Any Changes Without Her Sign-Off. According to the Concord Monitor, “Ayotte’s executive order creating the commission did not require its members to meet at a specific frequency. A spokesperson for Ayotte confirmed that the COGE’s recommendations will be made public but did not answer questions about why the commission stopped meeting publicly or whether those meetings would resume. […] The commission acts in an advisory capacity and, unlike the federal DOGE, has no authority over state departments or spending. Ayotte said no changes will go into effect without her approval.” [Concord Monitor, 10/14/25]
- 2025: Kelly Ayotte Directed Her Efficiency Commission To Identify Programs For Cuts To Address A State Revenue Shortfall. According to Seacoast Online, “Here’s what to know about New Hampshire’s version of DOGE. […] Kelly Ayotte said that COGE will find programs to reduce or eliminate to deal with a revenue shortfall in the state. ‘We need to make sure that government is operating more like the lean process in manufacturing, where waste is eliminated at each stage in the process, to produce better results,’ she said in her first speech as governor.” [Seacoast Online, 2/27/25]
¶ New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley Said Kelly Ayotte’s COGE Was Rife With Conflicts Of Interest And Filled With Her Donors
NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley Said COGE Committee Was Filled With Ayotte Donors And “Rife With Conflicts Of Interest.” According to Seacoast Online, “The New Hampshire Democratic Party called COGE a ‘desperate attempt’ to ‘draw the attention and praise’ of Trump and Musk in a press release. NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley said that the committee, which includes many people who donated to Ayotte’s gubernatorial campaign, is ‘rife with conflicts of interest.’” [Seacoast Online, 2/27/25]
¶ Under Ayotte’s Leadership, New Hampshire Refused To Challenge The Trump Administration’s Funding Cuts, Leaving Granite Staters Without Essential Programs And Services
¶ New Hampshire Was The Only State In New England That Declined To Challenge The Trump Administration’s Education Funding Cuts And Freezes
2025: Under Ayotte’s Leadership, New Hampshire Was The Only State In New England That Declined To Challenge The Trump Administration’s Education Funding Cuts And Freezes. According to the Boston Globe, “When schools across the country got word last month that the Trump administration was withholding billions of dollars in congressionally approved funds for public education, there was a familiar partisan split. Democrat-led states quickly sued; Republican-led states did not. In New England, New Hampshire is the only state that has opted out of fighting for the funds in court, meaning that even if the other states’ lawsuit is successful, the Granite State’s schools would still lack millions in funding.” [Boston Globe, 7/20/25]
- The Trump Administration Withheld More Than $3 Million From Manchester Public Schools, Jeopardizing Enrichment And College-Accessibility Program For Underserved Students, English-Learning Programs, And Professional Development. According to the Boston Globe, “For Manchester, with the largest public school district in New Hampshire, the indefinite funding pause is blowing a more than $3 million hole in the budget for next year. That could jeopardize an enrichment and college-accessibility program for underserved students, support for the district’s sizable English learner population, professional development, and more, according to Superintendent Jennifer Chmiel. On Friday, the administration told lawmakers it would release funds related to afterschool programs, but other program funding remains in limbo and the funds haven’t yet arrived.” [Boston Globe, 7/20/25]
¶ New Hampshire Declined To Join A Lawsuit To Challenge Trump Administration Public Health Cuts, Allowing Trump To Rescind $80 Million From New Hampshire Programs
March 2025: The Trump Administration Rescinded More Than $100 Million In COVID-Era Public Health Funding From New England States, Including New Hampshire, Affecting Laboratory And Testing Capacity For Monitoring Disease, Vaccination Grants, A Health Disparities Program, And Behavioral Health Programs. According to the Boston Globe, “In late March, the Trump administration pulled over $100 million in COVID-era public health funding back from New England states, including money for mental health and substance abuse programs. A coalition of 23 states, including Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, sued and a judge ordered the funds restored to them. But that ruling didn’t apply to New Hampshire and the $80 million the Trump administration had clawed back from the state. The cuts hit four main areas, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, including laboratory and testing capacity for monitoring disease, grants to promote vaccination, a program to address disparities in health for communities, and behavioral health programs including community mental health services and combating substance use.” [Boston Globe, 7/20/25]
- Because New Hampshire Declined To Join A Lawsuit With Other 23 States To Challenge Trump Administration Cuts, New Hampshire Was Poised To Lose $80 Million In Public Health Grant Funding. According to the Boston Globe, “Even though a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s sweeping effort to reclaim $11.4 billion in public health grant money, New Hampshire still looks poised to lose its $80 million share of the funds. When the US Department of Health and Human Services sent a copy of the judge’s temporary restraining order on Monday to grant recipients, the department said the order applied only to the 23 states that sued to challenge the clawback, according to court filings. That includes Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut — but not New Hampshire.” [Boston Globe, 4/8/25]
¶ New Hampshire Refused To Join A Lawsuit Against The Trump Administration’s Cuts To AmeriCorps Programs, Allowing Trump To Cut Funding From The Squam Lakes Association In Holderness
April 2025: The Squam Lakes Association In Holderness Lost Federal Funding After New Hampshire Refused To Join A Lawsuit With Other New England States Against The Trump Administration’s Cuts To AmeriCorps Programs. According to the Boston Globe, “In April, the Trump administration abruptly terminated scores of AmeriCorps programs nationwide, halting the community service work they were doing and leaving the service members in the development program in the lurch. Every New England state besides New Hampshire successfully sued, and a judge in June ordered their programs and service members reinstated. But Lakes Region Conservation Corps, operated by the Squam Lakes Association in Holderness, N.H., and other local conservation partners, was not spared since New Hampshire didn’t join the suit. A cryptic notice of reinstatement recently went out to the corps and other programs, but its immediate implications are unclear and funding for next year remains uncertain. The organization had 15 full-time and 12 part-time service members who have provided environmental education to 3,000 people, maintained over 100 acres of trails, and been heavily involved in removing invasive plant species like Milfoil from the lake to maintain it as an outdoor attraction.” [Boston Globe, 7/20/25]
¶ Federal DOGE Put Nearly 9,000 Federal Workers In New Hampshire At Risk
2025: Kelly Ayotte’s Support For DOGE Put Nearly 9,000 Federal Jobs In New Hampshire At Risk. According to USA Facts, “In July 2025, there were 9,000 federal jobs in New Hampshire, a 1.1% decrease from the previous year. In May 2010, there were 10,200 federal jobs in the state, a recent high. Federal employment hit a low in New Hampshire in October 2010 at 7,400.” [USA Facts, Accessed 12/23/25]
¶ Kelly Ayotte Supported Trump And Elon Musk’s DOGE Agenda Despite The Harm It Was Causing To The Social Security Administration
¶ Kelly Ayotte Was An Early Supporter Of Trump’s DOGE Initiative To Shrink The Federal Government Under Elon Musk
January 2025: Kelly Ayotte Backed Trump’s DOGE Plan That Would Centralize Government Cuts Under Billionaire Elon Musk. According to In Depth New Hampshire, “Gov. Kelly Ayotte is among 26 Republican governors who sent a joint letter to congressional leaders expressing support for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The temporary agency, which would be headed by billionaire Elon Musk and former Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, would seek to reform the government and reduce up to $2 billion in wasteful spending, Trump says. But it has to be approved by Congress.” [In Depth New Hampshire, 1/10/25]
- Kelly Ayotte Sided With Trump’s DOGE Agenda And Backed Elon Musk’s Push To Permanently Shrink The Federal Government. According to In Depth New Hampshire, “‘We are writing today to express our overwhelming support for President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Initiative and request that Congress work alongside him to solidify the efficiencies that are found into law. As chief executives for our states, we know a thing or two about streamlining government, removing unnecessary bureaucracy, and bringing efficient result-driven solutions to state government. We stand by President Trump as he works to do the same with the federal government,’ it reads. ‘These results don’t just happen overnight. Our states are successful because we live within our means. We balance our budgets, lower taxes, leverage surpluses, pay down debt, improve the efficiency of state governments, and create an environment where our constituents can build a prosperous future for themselves, their family, and their community. ‘It is past time for Washington to live within its means too. We support President Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and agree with their assertion that the federal government needs to be cut down to size. We stand ready to help,’ the letter said.” [In Depth New Hampshire, 1/10/25]
¶ At The Social Security Administration, Doge Forced Mass Layoffs, Longer Wait Times And Frequent Website Crashes
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
¶ More Than 343,000 Granite Staters Relied on social security benefits
In New Hampshire, 343,052 Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2024, 343,052 Granite Staters received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, New Hampshire, 2024]
¶ Kelly Ayotte Previously Supported Raising The Social Security Retirement Age And Restricting Benefit Eligibility
2015: Kelly Ayotte Said Social Security Should Increase Its Retirement Age Gradually And Raise The Payroll Tax Cap. According to Kelly Ayotte at a Goffstown Town Hall Meeting, “The way Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill did the deal was raise the cap to some extent, not as, I think, as dramatically as you said, but raise the cap. And then, gradually to give people time to plan, over a decade or more, plus, that one was even longer, gradually raise the retirement age.” [Kelly Ayotte Speech – Goffstown Town Hall Meeting, 1/16/15] (VIDEO)