Allegations of threats surface after contentious budget fight among New Hampshire Republicans

Public accusations of threats followed a rancorous session of the New Hampshire House after a near collapse of support for the 2026 state budget on the Republican side.

At issue was a budget amendment that would impose automatic budget caps on New Hampshire school districts, a bill backed by Republican House leadership but rejected by voters at the local level repeatedly.

State Rep. Kim Rice posted on social media after the session that embattled State Representative Ross Berry was “threatening everyone” after Republicans voted to kill a long list of amendments to the 2026 budget, nearly derailing the entire process.

“I threatened no one, so that’s just untrue,” Berry wrote in a post denying the allegations. “People will have to explain their votes and I won’t have an issue explaining mine.”

In another post, Republican State Rep. Jeremy Slottje posted a list of fellow Republicans that voted against the budget amendment that would impose automatic budget caps on New Hampshire school districts.

“A comprehensive list of each Republican who voted to raise your property taxes. Please let them know how you feel about that,” Slottje wrote in a post on social media after the vote, mischaracterizing the bill.

RELATED: NH House Republicans pass 2026 budget that raises taxes on working families, funds school vouchers and tax breaks for wealthy

The allegation of threats and calling out of fellow Republicans comes after sources at the State House said Republicans held a chaotic recess caucus late in the day on Thursday, where Republican House Speaker Sherm Packard reportedly screamed at members, calling some “a bunch of goddamn assholes.”

Tensions among members of the House Republican caucus could be felt in a statement they released following passage of the budget, which projected a surprising level of unease about how the process played out.

“Legislating is rarely as glamorous or picturesque as television makes it seem. Likewise, passing a State Budget can be a trying and difficult process,” wrote Republican House Leader Jason Osborne in the statement.

The 2026 budget New Hampshire House Republicans voted on last Thursday represents the most bitterly partisan budget in a generation, a $16 billion plan that guts many state programs aimed at providing healthcare and affordable housing in order to pay for a vast expansion to the state’s school voucher program and offset recent Republican tax cuts for the top 1% and cuts to business taxes.