America’s newest governor is looking forward to ‘working with’ the Trump administration

EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, NH — Kelly Ayotte becomes the state’s newest governor on Thursday when she was inaugurated at the New Hampshire State House.

The former US senator, who previously served as attorney general, takes office in the key swing state of New England a week and a half early President-elect Trump andwith inaugurated.

And Ayotte, who succeeds Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in governing the Granite State, says she looks forward to working with the Trump administration.

“I will work with the administration on behalf of New Hampshire and advocate for the Granite State on the important priorities here: keeping the state safe, making sure that when it comes to the federal resources we’re advocating for New Hampshire, so I look forward to working with the administration,” Ayotte said in a nationally exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration.

THE COMEBACK KID: FORMER GOP RISING STAR COMES OUT AGAIN WITH BIG GOVERNOR’S VICTORY

During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, which culminated in Ayotte’s defeat of Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Manchester mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in the November election, the issue of illegal immigration and border security has often been in the spotlight in the nation that borders Canada and has long dealt with an acute fentanyl crisis.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR WHO HAS DECIDED NOT TO SEEK RE-ELECTION

Ayotte, who in the campaign promised to prevent New Hampshire from becoming a haven for illegal immigrants, it will have what Sununu has not enjoyed for the past four years: a Republican in the White House.

“President Trump will enforce laws, and that’s important to me. And we have a northern border.”

Reflecting on her tenure as attorney general, Ayotte said, “I believe it’s important that criminals be held accountable. And as we look at New Hampshire, we will not allow New Hampshire to become a sanctuary. That’s why it’s important that we enforce our laws. We welcome legal immigration. , but those who come here illegally, especially those who commit crimes, should be held accountable.”

Elected to the US Senate in 2010, Ayotte was a rising star in the GOP and considered a national security and foreign policy leader.

But Ayotte lost re-election in 2016 by a narrow margin of just over 1,000 votes at the hands of then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.

Now, as she takes over the Granite State, she said “my No. 1 priority is to be a governor for everyone in New Hampshire, for all the people, and to be accessible to the people of New Hampshire.”

“Making sure that we continue to grow our economy, our prosperity, our freedom here in New Hampshire, have a responsible budget where we live within our means, but effectively serve the people of New Hampshire, those will be my priorities on day one,” she added.

Ayotte, who made history nearly two decades ago as the state’s first female attorney general, made history again in November as the first Republican woman win the election for governor of New Hampshire.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“We have so many strong women who have served in this state, a great history,” Ayotte said. “There are so many examples of women who led and great men who also led.”

She said that she “hopes that every young girl out there understands that whatever position she wants to achieve is available to her, and that we don’t even have these debates about whether the chosen one is a woman or a man because that’s just the same for everyone to understand that those opportunities there are, and I think that’s what’s happening in New Hampshire.”