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2h ago

Governors Converge on Washington as Trump’s Exclusions Test White House Tradition

The standoff tests a bipartisan custom that has long guaranteed every governor a seat at the table.

Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) speaks during a conference at the Economic Club of Washington Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Washington.(AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), from left, Economic Club of Washington Chairman David Rubenstein, and Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., vice chair of the NGA participate in a panel discussion during a conference at the Economic Club of Washington Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters onboard Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on February 16, 2026.
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Overview

  • The White House restored Friday’s governors’ business breakfast as an NGA-invited meeting, while President Trump’s Saturday dinner still bars Democrats Wes Moore and Jared Polis.
  • NGA chair Kevin Stitt said the association will not facilitate the dinner and that he will attend in a personal capacity.
  • About eighteen Democratic governors plan to boycott the White House dinner in protest, with some also skipping the breakfast.
  • Trump privately scolded Stitt over the dispute and publicly labeled him a “RINO,” asserting his authority to set the guest list.
  • Moore and Polis, both NGA leaders, criticized the exclusions; Moore rejected Trump’s blame for a Potomac sewage spill as a federal-utility matter, and Polis called the snub a badge of honor.