Govs. Walz, Kelly to leave National Governors Association citing lack of bipartisan initiatives: Sources [View all]
Source: ABC News
July 26, 2025, 8:37 PM
Sources say two prominent Democrats are stepping away from a national bipartisan organization that brings together the chief executives of all 50 states, citing a lack of pushback to Trump administration policies and to some recent threats to state funding and operations.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), will be leaving the National Governors Association (NGA) at the end of the month, a source familiar with her thinking told ABC News. She will actively step back from the organization, not only by not paying dues but also by withdrawing from promoting or taking part in any NGA-associated work, the source said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former DGA chair, is also cutting ties with the NGA and will stop paying dues to the organization next year as he is "reassessing" his membership, another source told ABC News.
The two governors are stepping away at a time when the association appears to engage in fewer bipartisan initiatives and advocate less for states as they face uncertainty around some of the Trump administration's policies and Congress' recent cuts to federal funding, according to the second source, who called that a departure from the group's past work to champion local issues.
The NGA is "not living up to the most fundamental aspect of its mission statement" while Congress and the Trump administration are "dismantling solutions-based governance," said the source familiar with Kelly's thinking.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/govs-walz-kelly-leave-national-governors-association-citing/story?id=124082251
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