As Funding Freeze Is Rescinded, Ayotte Fails To Protect NH During First Trump Fire Drill
- Amplify NH
- Jan 29
- 2 min read
Contact: Ryan Mahoney, ryan@amplifynh.org
As Funding Freeze Is Rescinded, Ayotte Fails To Protect NH During First Trump Fire Drill
MANCHESTER, NH — Just days after an Office of Budget Management memo threatened to indefinitely freeze all federal funding for grants and loans to states across the country, the Trump Administration announced they were rescinding the order, likely because of its acute unconstitutionality. As states, recipient programs, and Granite Staters scrambled to figure out what was on the chopping block and what to do amidst the uncertainty, many governors stood up, spoke out against the freeze, and assured protections for key services in their state. Meanwhile, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte genuflected to Trump and defended the freeze while refusing to provide details on what services New Hampshire might see cut.
“In what is likely to be the first of many Trump fire drills, Ayotte’s actions revealed the type of governor she will be. Instead of asking tough questions of the Trump Administration or securing assurances around critical services for New Hampshire working families, veterans, and students, she defended Trump’s ‘spending review’ while clearly knowing nothing about its scope,” said Amplify New Hampshire Executive Director Ryan Mahoney. ”We learned a lot about Kelly Ayotte the last few days. Her instinct is to protect Trump and demonstrating her loyalty to him — proving willing to sacrifice police on our streets, access to Medicaid, funding for the Head Start program, veteran homelessness and VA benefits.”
Despite being a devout Trump loyalist, Ayotte was unable to deliver any clear assurances for New Hampshire, including:
Neglecting to protect the $1.5 million in federal COPS grant funding to keep officers on the street protecting our communities, despite running a fear-mongering campaign on the issue of crime
Failing to protect 184,000 Granite Staters on Medicaid who had their portal shut down
Refusing to stand up for the $16 million in Head Start funding for New Hampshire preschoolers
Proving unable to defend the $14 million in federal funding to combat homelessness or done anything to protect VA benefits
Refusing to join a lawsuit with other governors to sue the federal government to protect New Hampshire against these unconstitutional freeze
With the federal freezes now rescinded, New Hampshire’s eyes are on Governor Kelly Ayotte to see what her first move will be to proactively protect the state against future disturbances, chaos, and uncertainty from the Trump administration.
About Amplify New Hampshire
Amplify New Hampshire is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization founded to keep Granite Staters informed of the decisions made in local, state, and federal government that will impact their lives and empower them to enact change. For more information, visit amplifynh.org.