Annual governors' gathering with White House unraveling after Trump
excludes Democrats
[February 11, 2026]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI, STEVE PEOPLES and STEVEN SLOAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — An annual meeting of the nation’s governors that has
long served as a rare bipartisan gathering is unraveling after President
Donald Trump excluded Democratic governors from White House events.
The National Governors Association said it will no longer hold a formal
meeting with Trump when governors are scheduled to convene in Washington
later this month, after the White House planned to invite only
Republican governors. On Tuesday, 18 Democratic governors also announced
they would boycott a traditional dinner at the White House.
“If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these
events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan
opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White
House dinner this year,” the Democrats wrote. “Democratic governors
remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life
better for people in our states.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA, told fellow
governors in a letter on Monday that the White House intended to limit
invitations to the association’s annual business meeting, scheduled for
Feb. 20, to Republican governors only.
“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,” Stitt wrote in the letter,
which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The governors’ group, which is scheduled to meet from Feb. 19-21, is one
of the few remaining venues where political leaders from both major
parties gather to discuss the top issues facing their communities. White
House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that Trump has
“discretion to invite anyone he wants to the White House.”
“It's the people's house,” she said. “It's also the president's home, so
he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White
House.”
Representatives for Sitt and the NGA didn't comment on the letter.
Brandon Tatum, the NGA's CEO, said in a statement last week that the
White House meeting is an “important tradition” and said the
organization was “disappointed in the administration's decision to make
it a partisan occasion this year.”
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President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, early Monday, Feb.
9, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after returning from a trip to
Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
In his letter to other governors, Stitt encouraged the group to
unite around common goals.
“We cannot allow one divisive action to achieve its goal of dividing
us,” he wrote. “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. America’s governors have always been models of pragmatic
leadership, and that example is most important when Washington grows
distracted by politics.”
Signs of partisan tensions emerged at the White House meeting last
year, when Trump and Maine's Gov. Janet Mills traded barbs.
Trump singled out the Democratic governor over his push to bar
transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports,
threatening to withhold federal funding from the state if she did
not comply. Mills responded, “We’ll see you in court.”
Trump then predicted that Mills’ political career would be over for
opposing the order. She is now running for U.S. Senate.
The back-and-forth had a lasting impact on last year’s conference
and some Democratic governors did not renew their dues last year to
the bipartisan group.
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Peoples reported from New York.
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