Wes Moore Uninvited From Governors’ Dinner With Trump

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced on Feb. 8 that he was uninvited from a dinner at the White House for the nation’s governors.

Moore wrote on his website that his exclusion undermined bipartisanship and was possibly racially motivated. “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,” he said.

Other Democratic governors, such as Colorado’s Jared Polis and California’s Gavin Newsom, also reported being uninvited from the dinner.

Moore is the vice chair of the National Governors’ Association (NGA), which every year convenes the governors of every state and territory in Washington for meetings, followed by a black-tie dinner with the president and vice president.

Moore’s deputy, Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, wrote on social media that “uninviting our country’s only black governor from a bipartisan dinner isn’t subtle. It’s exactly what it looks like.”

Moore noted that he had recently visited the White House for discussions on energy policy, stating that the disinvitation was “confounding.”

In an email to The Epoch Times, a White House official said, “These are White House events and the President reserves the right to invite whomever he wants.”

“Many Democrats were invited to dinner at the White House, and others were not,” the official added.

The NGA criticized the White House’s decision.

“To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration,” interim NGA CEO Brandon Tatum wrote in a statement on social media.

“[W]e are disappointed in the administration’s decision,” Tatum added.

Since President Donald Trump’s second term began, the bipartisan association has been criticized by its Democratic members for not aggressively criticizing the administration’s deployment of states’ national guard forces to protect immigration law enforcement officers.

Recently, Moore and the NGA chair, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, released a statement urging the Trump administration to “consider a reset” of its immigration law enforcement policy, specifically its mass deportation operation. The statement was issued one day after Alex Pretti, a protester against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during a demonstration.

“We believe there are criminals in our country who must be held accountable, but moments like this demand thoughtful leadership, coordination, and clarity,” Stitt and Moore wrote. “Scenes of violence and chaos on our streets are unacceptable and do not reflect who we are.”

The administration has defended the actions of ICE and other immigration law enforcement officers. However, Trump has recently acknowledged critiques of removal operations.

“Maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Feb. 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.