The bipartisan National Governors Association has canceled its annual meeting with President Donald Trump later this month after the White House excluded Democratic governors from the invitation list.
Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK), the chairman of the association, said the White House intended to invite only Republican governors in a break from tradition.
“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event, and it is no longer included in our official program,” Stitt wrote in a Monday letter to fellow governors as reported by the Associated Press.
“We cannot allow one divisive action to achieve its goal of dividing us,” he continued. “The solution is not to respond in kind, but to rise above and to remain focused on our shared duty to the people we serve. America’s governors have always been models of pragmatic leadership, and that example is most important when Washington grows distracted by politics.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the White House for comment in response to the letter.
In its own statement on the news, the Democratic Governors Association blamed Trump for “creating chaos and division” and announced its members would not attend the event this year.
“If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year,” the joint statement reads. “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”
Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), who serves as NGA vice chairman alongside Stitt, previously complained about being disinvited from the annual NGA dinner in Washington, D.C. Moore suggested he may have been snubbed because of his race.
“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not,” he wrote on X over the weekend.
Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) was also specifically excluded from the dinner, according to news reports. The Colorado Democrat’s office called the decision “disappointing.”
“Gov. Polis has always been willing to work with anyone across the political spectrum who wants to help work on the hardest problems facing Colorado and America, regardless of party or who occupies the White House,” a Polis spokesperson said.
Based on Stitt’s letter, the rest of the nation’s Democratic governors were apparently going to be excluded from the event, too. The NGA’s annual business meeting was previously scheduled for Feb. 20 in the middle of a three-day conference.
Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who once was governor of West Virginia and a chairman of the NGA, notably called out Trump for snubbing Democratic governors and urged him to reconsider.
“Shutting out governors based on party affiliation doesn’t just undermine the NGA, it undermines the citizens those governors were elected to represent,” Manchin said. “Leadership means bringing people together, especially when it’s hard. This decision should be reconsidered.”
Trump has frequently sparred with multiple Democratic governors, including Moore and Polis, since returning to office last year.
During an NGA gathering at the White House in February 2025, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) engaged in a heated confrontation with Trump over his remarks about banning transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports. At the time, he was threatening to withhold federal funding from Maine over the issue.
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