Published: 11/22/2016 6:26:46 PM
After days of speculation, it turns out Donald Trump won’t put Republican Kelly Ayotte in his cabinet after all.
“No, thank you,” the Republican president-elect told the New York Times according to reporter Maggie Haberman, who tweeted about the interview.
Ayotte lost her U.S. Senate seat to Democratic challenger Maggie Hassan by little more than 1,000 votes in the recent election. Rumors then started that Trump would consider Ayotte for a position in the cabinet. Both Republicans’ supporters cast doubt on the idea. Ayotte didn’t comment on the speculation and has remained tight-lipped about her future plans. Trump addressed it publicly for the first time Tuesday.
Ayotte has had a tumultuous relationship with Trump. She supported, but did not endorse him, for most of the campaign. But in October she withdrew her support after a 2005 video surfaced showing the businessman talking about groping women.
Ayotte was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and carved a name for herself as a foreign policy hawk. A former New Hampshire Attorney General, she hasn’t announced what her next move will be after leaving Washington.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com)