White House Excludes Some Democrats From Governors' Events
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Washington President Donald Trump limited a National Governors Association meeting to Republican governors and did not invite some Democrats. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the White House excluded them from both a governors meeting with Cabinet members and a bipartisan dinner during the NGA summit Feb. 19-21. Moore, the NGA vice chair, called the action a snub and raised concerns about whether race influenced his exclusion. The NGA said it would not use its resources to support the partisan event, and the White House gave mixed responses. Based on 6 articles reviewed and supporting research.
Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.
Timeline of Events
- NGA holds an annual bipartisan summit and White House dinner tradition established over decades.
- The 2026 NGA summit was scheduled for Feb. 19–21 in Washington, D.C.
- The White House limited a governors meeting to Republican governors and blocked invites for some Democrats.
- NGA emailed that the partisan meeting would not use NGA resources and alerted governors.
- Govs. Wes Moore and Jared Polis publicly announced they were excluded and criticized the decision.
- Articles Published:
- 6
- Right Leaning:
- 2
- Left Leaning:
- 0
- Neutral:
- 4
- Distribution:
- Left 0%, Center 67%, Right 33%
Republican governors and White House officials benefited from a private meeting limited to GOP governors, gaining uninterrupted executive access, policy briefing time, and focused public visibility while avoiding bipartisan engagement dynamics.
Democratic governors, particularly Wes Moore and Jared Polis, suffered exclusion from long-standing bipartisan events, losing opportunities for federal-state engagement and symbolic inclusion at the NGA summit.
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