Shapiro & Moore Take D.C.

Josh Shapiro
To wit, a Maryland state lobbyist recalled when Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro rushed to be the first speaker during a side session on crypto. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
February 22, 2026

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The National Governors Association is one of the last remaining bastions of bipartisanship in the country—one in which the members purport to put their states’ interests over politics. But no organization is safe from the partisan vortex of the Trump era, and America’s governors have faced a number of compounding crises in recent months: unwanted National Guard and ICE deployments, politically motivated funding decisions, the president’s threats to nationalize elections, and even a petty last-minute drama over invitations to the White House during their annual retreat, which concluded this weekend. It’s a perilous moment that has divided the governors along partisan lines and, as in Congress, is testing their willingness to stand up to the president’s overreach.