Trump bars two Democratic governors from White House meeting, sparking bipartisan backlash

The National Governors Association’s annual White House meeting is a decades-old bipartisan tradition that brings together governors from both parties — representing all 55 governors from U.S. states and territories — to discuss shared policy priorities and advocate for their interests in Washington. The NGA, founded more than a century ago, typically facilitates the event as one of Washington’s few remaining cross-party gatherings in an increasingly polarized political environment.

This year’s gathering, scheduled for Feb. 19-21 in Washington, has been upended by President Trump’s decision to exclude two Democratic governors from the annual White House business meeting: Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado. 

Trump defended the move on social media, saying the invitations went to “ALL governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there,” without elaborating on his specific reasons for singling them out.

The fallout was swift. NGA Chairman and Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt sent a letter to fellow governors saying the organization could not facilitate a meeting that excluded Democratic members, since its mission is to represent all governors regardless of party. 

“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event,” Stitt wrote. The White House had informed the NGA that invitations to the Feb. 20 business meeting would be limited, prompting Stitt to remove it from the official agenda. 

Trump, however, disputed Stitt’s characterization, saying invitations were sent to all governors except Moore and Polis. He fired back on social media, calling Stitt a “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — accusing him of misrepresenting the situation and expressing regret for ever endorsing him.

The excluded governors have pushed back in different ways. Moore, the NGA’s vice chair and the nation’s only Black governor, suggested race may have played a role in his exclusion. 

“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 said. 

Polis’s office called his exclusion “a disappointing decision for a traditionally bipartisan event.” 

Over the past few months, Trump has pressured Polis to release Tina Peters from prison following her presidential pardon. Peters was convicted on state charges arising from a scheme to tamper with voting systems driven by Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was rigged; a presidential pardon does not apply to state crimes. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s prerogative, noting the president has discretion over White House invitations and that Moore had been invited last year but declined to attend.

The episode has broader implications beyond a single dinner. 

Beyond the White House meeting, some governors also shared pointed criticisms of what they described as executive overreach and Congress’ failure to check presidential power, with Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox saying, “Presidents aren’t supposed to do this stuff,” adding that Congress needs to “get their act together” and that “it is up to the states to hold the line.” 

The dispute has turned what is typically a bipartisan gathering into a new flashpoint in Trump’s confrontational approach to governance.