The National Governors Association (NGA) has canceled its annual White House meeting after President Trump only invited Republican governors to the gathering.
The yearly meeting is traditionally bipartisan and offers a chance for state leaders to convene with one another and the president.
“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,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) wrote in a Monday letter announcing plans to forgo the meeting, according to The Associated Press.
Stitt said the Trump administration’s decision to exclude Democratic governors would not divide the association.
“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.”