America's newest governor takes page from Trump with DOGE-like commission

CONCORD, N.H. - The nation's newest governor is coming out of the starting gate by proposing a new government efficiency commission that seems to be modeled, to a degree, on a similar national effort by President-elect Trump.

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of swing state New Hampshire, in her inaugural address on Thursday as she succeeded longtime GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, pointed to the state's budget challenges ahead due to the drying up of federal COVID relief funding for the states and a downturn in business revenues.

"We are going to have to look to find better ways to do things with fewer dollars," Ayotte said.

The new governor then said, "Because I know nothing is harder than getting politicians to not spend money, today I am announcing the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, or as I like to call it – the ‘COGE.’"

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Ayotte argued that "COGE will make us smarter than ever before when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of our state."

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration, Ayotte appeared to tease her proposal by emphasizing that "we look for new, efficient ways to do things better and serve taxpayers."

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The move by New Hampshire's governor comes nearly two months after Trump, days after his presidential election victory, tapped Elon Musk, the world's richest person, and former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to steer what he called the "Department of Government Efficiency," better known by its acronym DOGE.

Ayotte's proposal received plenty of applause from state lawmakers gathered at New Hampshire's Statehouse for the governor's inauguration. Republicans in November's elections made major gains as they strengthened their state House and state Senate majorities.

"I think it's a brilliant approach," Republican Mayor Jay Ruais of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, told Fox News. 

Ruais, considered a rising star in his party, emphasized "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."

New Hampshire Democrats obviously disagree.

"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," longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley argued.

"Throughout her speech, one thing became clear – Kelly Ayotte is taking a page out of the Donald Trump playbook," Buckley claimed. "Governor Ayotte is following in Trump’s footsteps and setting on a dangerous and costly path for New Hampshire."

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Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, who previously served as a state attorney general, defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in November's election. Her victory kept the governor's office in GOP hands.

In her address, Ayotte praised her predecessor, whose policies she campaigned on continuing.

"New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that after four terms at the helm than Governor Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor," Ayotte said.

Looking ahead, Ayotte told GOP state legislative leaders, "I look forward to working with you … to marshal our Republican majorities over the next two years to deliver on the promises we made to keep our state moving in the right direction."

And Ayotte reiterated a longstanding pledge by New Hampshire Republicans that she is "not going to surprise anyone when I say this: no income tax, no sales tax, not now, not ever."

But Ayotte also extended an olive branch to Democrats and said, "My door is always open. Good government knows no party."

"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," she added.

And Ayotte, who faced a barrage of attacks by Democrats over the issue of abortion during last year's gubernatorial campaign, repeated her vow to state lawmakers that "if you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law: I will veto it."

Abortions are legal in New Hampshire through 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Ayotte also made headlines by announcing she'll move to ban cell phones in the state's public schools.

Pointing to her husband, Joe, a retired Air Force pilot who flew combat missions over Iraq and nowadays teaches middle school math, the governor said, "Joe and I talk about what he is seeing in the classroom and what his students need all the time. He and the thousands of teachers across our state are on the front lines of our education system. Teachers know uniquely what is working for our students and what isn’t. We need to listen to them.

"That’s why today I am announcing that we will be taking action to ban cell phones in our schools. Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students' attention," Ayotte highlighted.

Sununu, in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of Ayotte's inauguration, which was his last full day in office after eight years and four election victories (New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont are the only states in the nation to have two-year terms for governors), praised his successor.

"Kelly's been a great friend for decades. She's going to be a fantastic governor for New Hampshire. She's New Hampshire, born, bred, ready to go, hit the ground running with a great team here in the state," Sununu emphasized.

The outgoing governor added that while he's leaving office, he's always available for advice. "Anything I could possibly add, she knows she can call and text anytime," he said.