• Trump agreed Wednesday to invite governors from both parties to the White House meeting next week, reversing a decision that had excluded all Democrats
• The reversal followed Republican NGA Chairman Kevin Stitt canceling the formal meeting and 18 Democratic governors announcing a boycott of the traditional dinner
• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had been specifically excluded from even the dinner, prompting Moore to raise concerns about racial targeting

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — President Donald Trump agreed Wednesday to welcome governors from both parties to the White House meeting next week, reversing an earlier decision that had excluded Democrats and triggered a bipartisan backlash that threatened to dismantle one of Washington’s last reliably bipartisan institutions. The reversal came after Republican NGA Chairman Kevin Stitt canceled the formal White House gathering and 18 Democratic governors announced they would boycott the traditional black-tie dinner — a rapid unraveling that played out over just six days.

The episode follows a now-familiar pattern: the White House makes a provocative move, draws sharp criticism from both parties, and ultimately adjusts course — leaving questions about whether the initial provocation was strategic or impulsive and whether the reversal represents genuine accommodation or damage control.

Governor Exclusion: How the Crisis Began

The National Governors Association winter meeting is scheduled for Feb. 19-21 in Washington. Every modern president — Republican and Democrat — has hosted the nation’s governors at the White House for a working session with cabinet secretaries and a formal dinner. It has long been one of the few remaining venues where political leaders from both parties gather to address shared challenges from disaster response to energy policy.

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On Feb. 6, the New York Times first reported that the White House planned to limit invitations for the Feb. 20 business meeting to Republican governors only. Initially, Trump still intended to host a separate bipartisan dinner — but two Democratic governors were specifically excluded from even that event: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Neither governor was informed of their exclusion or given a reason. Other Democrats who have publicly clashed with Trump far more aggressively — including California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker — were still extended dinner invitations, making the selective targeting of Moore and Polis more difficult to explain as purely political.

“We are disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year. To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration.”

— Brandon Tatum, NGA CEO

Governor Exclusion: Moore Raises Race, Polis Offers Dinner Tips

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Moore, the nation’s only Black governor and the NGA’s vice chairman — elected to that role by governors of both parties — issued a pointed response that went beyond the politics of the snub.

“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.”

— Wes Moore, Maryland Governor (D) and NGA Vice Chairman

Moore called the exclusion “especially confounding” given that “just weeks ago” he was part of a bipartisan group of governors working with the administration on energy policy at the White House. In a later interview, he drew a broader connection, noting that around the same time as his disinvitation, Trump “put together a meme of the former first family likening them to apes.”

Moore is set to become NGA chairman later this year, succeeding Stitt — meaning the person the White House excluded is about to lead the organization the White House was trying to work through.

Polis, the nation’s first openly gay man reelected as governor, took a lighter approach. A spokesperson said the governor “does welcome recommendations for popular local restaurants now that he and other Democratic Governors may have a free evening to explore the best DC has to offer.”

Governor Exclusion: Republican Chairman Steps In

The decisive break came not from Democrats but from the NGA’s own Republican chairman. Stitt informed fellow governors Monday that the White House planned to limit the Feb. 20 meeting to Republicans only, and announced the NGA would no longer facilitate the event.

“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.”

— Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma Governor (R) and NGA Chairman

Stitt urged colleagues not to let the situation fracture the bipartisan organization:

“We cannot allow one divisive action to achieve its goal of dividing us. 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.”

— Kevin Stitt, in letter to fellow governors

The next day, 18 Democratic governors issued a joint statement through the Democratic Governors Association, led by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, announcing they would boycott the dinner entirely. Beshear — a white Democrat who had been invited — declined in solidarity, telling ABC’s “The View”: “If he’s not going to invite us to the business section, I’m not going to go to dinner.”

Governor Exclusion: White House Defends, Then Reverses

Through Tuesday, the White House showed no signs of backing down. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s position in increasingly direct terms.

“The president has the discretion to invite whomever he wants to the White House, and he welcomes all those who received an invitation to come, and if they don’t want to, that’s their loss.”

— Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary

Leavitt also noted that Moore was invited to last year’s dinner but “did not show up.”

By Wednesday, however, Trump agreed to welcome governors from both parties to the White House meeting next week — a reversal that came after the combined pressure of a Republican chairman’s cancellation, a unified Democratic boycott and growing media coverage of the standoff.

Governor Exclusion: The Deeper Fractures

The reversal does not erase the underlying tensions that produced the crisis. The NGA has been fraying for months. Last year’s meeting featured a public confrontation between Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills over transgender athletes in women’s sports. Trump singled Mills out, threatening to withhold federal funding. Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.” Trump predicted her political career was over. She is now running for U.S. Senate.

The fallout was lasting. Some Democratic governors stopped paying NGA dues after the organization failed to speak out against the administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois without coordinating with Gov. Pritzker. The NGA represents all 55 governors — the 50 states plus five territories — but that unity has been strained by federal-state conflicts over immigration enforcement, election administration and federal funding.

Whether Trump’s reversal restores the bipartisan character of the Feb. 19-21 gathering remains to be seen. It is unclear whether the 18 Democratic governors who announced a boycott will now accept the invitation, or whether Moore and Polis — whose specific exclusion triggered much of the backlash — will attend.

When a president excludes the opposition party from a traditionally bipartisan gathering and then reverses course under pressure, does the reversal restore the institution — or does the willingness to break the norm in the first place signal that the tradition now survives only at the president’s discretion?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from Newsmax’s reporting on the White House reversal, the Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, CNN’s initial reporting on the exclusion of Democratic governors, CBS News’ coverage of the Democratic boycott, Fox News’ reporting on the NGA cancellation, The Hill’s coverage of the canceled meeting and Moore’s response, Fox 5 DC’s reporting on the NGA cancellation, The Baltimore Banner’s coverage of the dinner boycott, NPR’s coverage of the unraveling gathering, The Advocate’s reporting on the Moore and Polis exclusions, and local coverage from Nottingham MD.

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