Trump Excludes Democrats from NGA White House Meeting

President Donald Trump has broken with decades of bipartisan tradition by excluding Democratic governors from a key White House meeting during the National Governors Association's winter gathering in Washington, D.C., and revoking invitations for two prominent Democrats to a planned dinner.

The annual NGA conference, set to begin on February 19, typically includes a working session and a black-tie dinner hosted by the president to foster federal-state collaboration across party lines. This year, however, the White House has limited the business meeting to Republican governors only, according to multiple officials familiar with the planning. A separate dinner for governors and their spouses remains on the schedule, but invitations for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the NGA's vice chair and the nation's only Black governor, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were rescinded without explanation.

Moore, a Democrat, addressed the exclusion in a public statement over the weekend, describing it as "blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership." He noted the personal significance, stating, "As the nation's only Black governor, I can't ignore that being singled...