Kansas Democratic governor plans to attend White House meeting
Gov. Laura Kelly answers questions during a Dec. 16, 2025, interview in her office at the Statehouse. She plans to attend a White House business meeting but skip a dinner with other governors. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to attend a business meeting at the White House next week, which comes after President Donald Trump flip-flopped on invitations and Democrats promised to boycott.
Kelly’s office said she will attend a bipartisan working meeting on Feb. 20, but she will not partake in the White House’s black-tie dinner that is expected to follow. She has not attended the White House dinner since 2019 and does not plan to this year, said spokesperson Grace Hoge.
“She recognizes the utility of meeting with the president, Cabinet secretaries and other federal officials, alongside her colleagues, to discuss ways states and the federal government can partner on behalf of all Americans,” Hoge said. “She decided to attend the meeting once the White House invitation included all governors, regardless of party.”
The plans leading up to next week’s events in Washington, D.C., have fluctuated. Trump at first refused to invite Democrats to the White House. Then he backtracked after Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the National Governors Association, of which he is the chair, would no longer facilitate the meeting.
The White House confirmed Trump’s decision to exclude some Democratic governors from the dinner.
“Many Democrats were invited to dinner at the White House, and others were not. These are White House events and the President reserves the right to invite whomever he wants,” a White House official told States Newsroom, Kansas Reflector’s parent organization.
Members of the Democratic Governors Association, including Kelly, said Tuesday they wouldn’t attend the White House dinner, and accused Trump of creating chaos and division.
“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 Democratic governors’ statement said.
Trump wrote in a Wednesday post to Truth Social that he only declined to invite two Democratic governors to the dinner — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the vice chair of the national association and the country’s only Black governor.
Kelly, who is in her last term, is a former chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Kansas is not a member of the National Governors Association, so she also does not plan to attend the three-day national conference, her office said.