Where The Hell Is Kelly Ayotte?

Contact: Ryan Mahoney, ryan@amplifynh.org

Where The Hell Is Kelly Ayotte?

CONCORD, N.H. — Instead of preparing for the financial storm ahead, Governor Kelly Ayotte was caught completely flat-footed as the federal government slashed over $80 million in pandemic-era grant funding that New Hampshire’s budget had been counting on. The result? A massive hole in the state’s finances that Ayotte will likely now look to everyday Granite Staters to cover with tax hikes.

This withdrawal of $80 million in federal support comes in the wake of initial news of a $21 million state budget shortfall that her predecessor Chris Sununu handed her upon leaving office. Ayotte should be raising hell and cursing out the White House for leaving New Hampshire in this mess—but she can’t, because she helped create it, calling her close ally Donald Trump the right choice for the White House in her endorsement last year. Now she’s reaping what she sowed while New Hampshire pays the price.

These cuts aren’t a fluke—they’re part of a clear pattern of federal disinvestment under Trump that disproportionately hurts states like New Hampshire .The Trump Administration recently froze federal grant that threaten $1.5 million in COPS grants for police departments, jeopardize coverage and access for 184,000 New Hampshire Medicaid recipients, and risk the state’s $14 million for homelessness programs. Ayotte refused to join a lawsuit with other governors to sue the federal government to protect New Hampshire against this unconstitutional freeze. Ayotte should have seen this coming from a mile away. Instead, she made a political bet, and Granite Staters are now the ones paying the price.

“Donald Trump was Kelly Ayotte’s choice for President and worked to help him get elected, so why hasn’t she been able to get what New Hampshire needs from his administration?” said Amplify New Hampshire Executive Director Ryan Mahoney. “Ayotte’s either incapable of delivering results for hardworking Granite Staters or just not willing to stand up and try. The idea that she was blindsided by these cuts shows a tremendous lack of foresight for an action consistent with the Trump Administration’s slash-and-burn strategy. Either way, Ayotte’s clearly in over her head and it will be hardworking Granite Staters that pay the price for Ayotte’s failure to stand up for New Hampshire.”

Tax hikes are becoming synonymous with Kelly Ayotte. During her budget address, she boasted about her plan for no new taxes, but the reality is that under Republican leadership, statewide property taxes increased by $100.7 million in FY2024, a 38.3% jump.  Republican Mayor of Manchester, Jay Ruais, who campaigned on tax cuts, just raised property taxes by 3.82%—the city’s largest increase in over a decade, while Lebanon residents are bracing for an 11.9% municipal property tax increase, and Gorham property owners face a crushing $3.74 increase per $1,000 valuation, leaving residents furious about disappearing services and rising costs.

Ayotte is now scrambling to understand and address the impact, but New Hampshire families and local communities were already bracing for steep cuts and steep tax hikes before this news broke. She ignored the warning signs, and left the state financially vulnerable to exactly this kind of blow. Worst of all, she doesn’t appear ready to fight back.

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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.