The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and its public face, Elon Musk, have dominated headlines ever since President Donald Trump took office in January. In NH, Gov. Kelly Ayotte began her term by launching the similarly-named Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE). While these two initiatives may rhyme, they are as different in style and approach as Trump and Ayotte.
Quick and Dirty vs. Slow and Steady
DOGE was intended to be temporary, with an “expiration date” of July 4, 2026. The expiration date speaks to the group’s founding philosophy—make sweeping changes and make them fast. To DOGE’s supporters, haste is not a bug; it’s a feature.
New Hampshire’s COGE has no expiration date, nor does it have a deadline for its recommendations. “The idea with the COGE was not so much about this [2026-2027] budget, but to say, ‘Let’s look ahead into the next biennium. What are the structural things we should be looking at?’” explained Gov. Ayotte in February.
DOGE’s cuts have been aggressive and controversial, in some cases attempting to dismantle entire agencies. Considering the time frame laid out in the executive order that founded DOGE, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. You can’t hope to cut $1 trillion from the next fiscal year’s federal budget by Sept. 30 with anything but a chainsaw. And even with this approach, DOGE has struggled to reach its lofty savings targets.
COGE, meanwhile, has no plans to make sweeping cuts to the state workforce, and members have been quick to distance themselves from any comparisons to DOGE. Instead, the Commission is collaborating with state agencies to streamline spending. While the group has yet to announce official recommendations, commission members have discussed selling unused state-owned properties, creating mechanisms to better capture business taxes from out-of-state companies operating in NH, consolidating equipment purchases, and outsourcing more contracts for services like road design and winter maintenance. COGE is working gradually and using a scalpel.
Does NH Need COGE?
There’s little question the federal government’s deficit spending is unsustainable long term. U.S. federal debt is now over $36 trillion, a debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio of 123% for FY 2024.
New Hampshire, on the other hand, has maintained a generally conservative approach to fiscal issues, including a balanced budget every two years. According to the research firm KFF, NH’s per-capita state spending was the fifth lowest in the nation in 2023. The state also boasts solid long-term fiscal balance, with revenue totaling 102.7% of its expenses between FY 2008 and 2022.
But there are still areas of concern—namely, the state’s significant long-term liabilities, including $5.6 billion in unfunded pension liability. The state Medicaid program costs $2.5 billion annually to operate, with $1.4 billion paid by the federal government. The latter has been a subject of recent debate as the NH Legislature hashes out the 2026-2027 state budget. With rising health care costs and uncertain federal funding, the Medicaid program could be a ticking time bomb for the budget. While COGE may make NH’s government more efficient, it’s unlikely to suggest cuts deep enough to erase these issues.
Can COGE and DOGE Learn From Each Other?
What you think of DOGE has quickly become a political Rorschach test. Is Elon Musk’s chainsaw the only way to make any dent in our bloated bureaucracy and lessen our unsustainable national debt? Or is it a reckless political project that jeopardizes the well-being of Americans who depend on federal programs?
If there is any reasonably objective answer to this question, it is that DOGE could reduce its mistakes and bad press by taking COGE’s slower, more collaborative approach, and that COGE may have to accept a more adversarial and controversial tack if it is to suggest substantial, structural changes to state government spending.
COGE, like DOGE, has invited input on ways to make NH’s government more efficient. You can submit suggestions through the Governor’s website (governor.nh.gov/councils-and-committees/governors-commission-government-efficiency-coge).
Mike Dunbar is director of content at Citizens Count, which provides information about the policy issues shaping NH. For more information, visit citizenscount.org
