Absent Ayotte Continues to Fail to Put NH First
- Amplify NH
- May 11
- 4 min read
Updated: May 13
As Granite Staters grapple with mounting threats to their jobs, health, and economic security, Governor Kelly Ayotte continues to offer no response to the growing crises that could devastate New Hampshire families. Instead, she’s abandoned her responsibility to fight for New Hampshire’s best interests, opting to remain silent, abdicating her responsibility as a leader and defender of her New Hampshire constituents.
Let’s take a look at how Ayotte’s inaction and inability to effectively lead has risked the livelihood of our state, as well as paved the way for Republicans in the State Legislature to make detrimental cuts in this year’s state budget:
New Details on Loss of Federal Funds that Ayotte Refused to FIght For
For months now, the Trump Administration and DOGE have wreaked havoc across the country by eliminating federal jobs and recklessly slashing federal spending. And as Democratic leaders across the country have spoken out against the harm caused by these cuts to their states, Kelly Ayotte has failed to stand up for Granite Staters, remaining silent.
The repercussions of this have been felt in New Hampshire, where in March, New Hampshire officials and residents learned that the state would lose about $80 million in federal funding for state health programs. Ayotte admitted she was caught flat-footed by these cuts and refused to fight for this critical funding as other Governors across the country were able to stop cuts to their states.
Recently, the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute analyzed the federal data to determine the four main areas that have been impacted by these federal cuts:
Epidemiology and laboratory capacity [$51.1 million cut]: These funds included money for increasing laboratory and testing capacity, in addition to epidemiological research and surveillance.
Immunizations and vaccines [$20.7 million cut]: These grant funds helped provide vaccination outreach to children and adults around the state.
Health disparities programming [$5 million cut]: This program was meant to address health disparities for communities at risk for COVID-19 through funding for testing, contact tracing, and preventative outreach.
Behavioral health programs [$4.4 million cut]: $2.1 million in funding for community mental health services and $2.3 million in funding for substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
These federal cuts will have detrimental impacts on Granite Staters’ access to critical health care and treatments, and Ayotte has remained silent.
Additionally, Ayotte stood by as the Trump administration’s DOGE threatened millions in funding support for law enforcement, veterans, homelessness, and aviation safety in New Hampshire. Additionally, she failed to oppose federal job cuts that put Granite Staters out of work, including critical jobs at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Ayotte Skips Northeast Governors’ Canadian Trade Summit
While Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada threaten the livelihood of New Hampshire consumers and businesses, Kelly Ayotte has opted to sit idly by rather than take any action. This week, five of the six New England governors signed onto a letter inviting the premiers of six Canadian provinces to a summit to discuss the tariffs, as well as how to preserve strong trade relationships. Despite being invited to participate, Ayotte declined, making her the only New England governor not to take part.
And this choice to abstain from the letter and meeting follow Ayotte’s prior acknowledgment of the serious consequences of any barriers to trade with Canada.
"Canada is our No. 2 trading partner, so I think it’s important that this get resolved and get resolved quickly, because we want to continue trading with Canada," Ayotte said last week in an interview with WMUR.
Despite knowing the threats posed by the tariffs, Ayotte seems willing to take a passive stance rather than stand up for New Hampshire industries’ best interests. Just another example of Ayotte cowering away from taking a stand.
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Thank you,
Ryan Mahoney
Executive Director