Maine Gov. Janet Mills ultimately attended a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House with President Donald Trump just hours after saying she would not be at the National Governors Association (NGA) event.Mills initially told Maine’s Total Coverage Friday morning that she would be joining a number of other Democratic governors who planned to boycott the event, a business breakfast in the State Dining Room that is typically part of the annual calendar for the NGA Winter Meeting.On Thursday, The Associated Press reported the NGA was no longer going to facilitate the event after Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, vice chair of the NGA, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.”I want to address the very serious issues facing Maine people – issues that, I believe, have been made worse by the Trump administration. But it’s become increasingly clear that the president is not serious about hosting a bipartisan meeting of the nation’s governors or hearing these concerns, which is why the NGA, in a significant move, has withdrawn its support for the traditional meeting,” Mills said in her initial statement to Maine’s Total Coverage. “Like many Democratic governors, I will not attend an event that has turned into an unproductive vanity project for the president.”But Mills was pictured at the White House event, along with Moore. Polis announced on social media that he attended the meeting after the White House made it clear that he and Moore were invited.In a follow-up statement shared with Maine’s Total Coverage, Mills said she was wrestling with the decision about whether to attend the meeting “given Donald Trump’s erratic games and his clear objective to turn this once bipartisan and productive conversation into a vanity project.””Right before the meeting this morning, I had a gut feeling that I should attend – the same feeling inside my heart when I stood up to the president one year ago – that if there is a chance to stand up for Maine people and to address important issues, regardless of how terrible this president is, I should not hesitate to be there,” Mills said in her subsequent statement. “So I joined NGA Vice Chair Wes Moore and several of my fellow Democratic governors at the White House (Friday). At the end of the day, I will sit through whatever painful meeting or narcissistic venture by the [/mediaosvideo]The typically bipartisan event appeared to be unraveling as early as Feb. 9, when Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA, sent a letter to his fellow governors on Monday. In the letter, Stitt said the NGA was informed that the Trump administration planned to limit invitations to the administration’s scheduled business meeting at the White House. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News that Democratic governors were still invited to a separate bipartisan dinner at the White House, which is also part of the NGA Winter Meeting. Democrats, however, said they would not participate in the meal if they were not fully included in the business meeting.In his Feb. 9 letter, Stitt told fellow governors that the NGA would no longer serve as the facilitator of the White House business meeting and the event would no longer be included on the Winter Meeting’s official program.But on Feb. 11, Stitt told his fellow governors in a letter that all members were invited to the event and cited a “misunderstanding in scheduling” after he got in contact with Trump.”I am writing to inform you that President Donald J. Trump is inviting all governors of the 55 States and territories to the Friday, Feb. 20 NGA Business Breakfast,” Stitt wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and CNN. “He was very clear in his communications with me that this is a National Governors Association’s event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country. President Trump said this was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding in scheduling.”Trump took to Truth Social on Feb. 11 to dispute the claims Stitt made in his letter two days earlier.”The invitations were sent to ALL governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there,” Trump said in one Truth Social post. “I look forward to seeing the Republican governors, and some of the Democratic governors who were worthy of being invited, but most of whom won’t show up.”Brandon Tatum, the NGA’s chief executive, stood by the association’s timeline of events.”As of (the evening of Feb. 10), only Republican governors received invites from the White House for the Friday morning business meeting,” Tatum said in a statement shared last week.On Feb. 13, Mills said she was planning to attend the NGA event at the White House and would be “ready to stand up for our state and Maine people.””We’ve seen this president undermine the rule of law and trample on the Constitution at every turn and try to attack and intimidate those who dare to stand up to him or disagree with him – like he did to me last year. I will not hesitate to stand up to him again to protect Maine,” Mills said in her statement shared on Feb. 13.But the outlook for the meeting changed again this week after Trump initially refused to include Moore and Polis in the White House meeting and blasted them on social media as “not worthy of being there.”The National Governors Association includes the governors of all 50 states and the governors of five U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Information from The Associated Press and CNN was used in this report.

WASHINGTON —

Maine Gov. Janet Mills ultimately attended a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House with President Donald Trump just hours after saying she would not be at the National Governors Association (NGA) event.

Mills initially told Maine’s Total Coverage Friday morning that she would be joining a number of other Democratic governors who planned to boycott the event, a business breakfast in the State Dining Room that is typically part of the annual calendar for the NGA Winter Meeting.

On Thursday, The Associated Press reported the NGA was no longer going to facilitate the event after Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, vice chair of the NGA, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

“I want to address the very serious issues facing Maine people – issues that, I believe, have been made worse by the Trump administration. But it’s become increasingly clear that the president is not serious about hosting a bipartisan meeting of the nation’s governors or hearing these concerns, which is why the NGA, in a significant move, has withdrawn its support for the traditional meeting,” Mills said in her initial statement to Maine’s Total Coverage. “Like many Democratic governors, I will not attend an event that has turned into an unproductive vanity project for the president.”

But Mills was pictured at the White House event, along with Moore. Polis announced on social media that he attended the meeting after the White House made it clear that he and Moore were invited.

In a follow-up statement shared with Maine’s Total Coverage, Mills said she was wrestling with the decision about whether to attend the meeting “given Donald Trump’s erratic games and his clear objective to turn this once bipartisan and productive conversation into a vanity project.”

“Right before the meeting this morning, I had a gut feeling that I should attend – the same feeling inside my heart when I stood up to the president one year ago – that if there is a chance to stand up for Maine people and to address important issues, regardless of how terrible this president is, I should not hesitate to be there,” Mills said in her subsequent statement. “So I joined NGA Vice Chair Wes Moore and several of my fellow Democratic governors at the White House (Friday). At the end of the day, I will sit through whatever painful meeting or narcissistic venture by the [resident that I have to if it means there’s even a sliver of a chance I can do something to defend Maine.”

At the same event during last year’s NGA Winter Meeting, Mills had a confrontation with Trump over Maine allowing transgender athletes who were assigned male at birth to compete in girls’ sports. Watch video of the heated exchange in the embedded video below.

The typically bipartisan event appeared to be unraveling as early as Feb. 9, when Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA, sent a letter to his fellow governors on Monday. In the letter, Stitt said the NGA was informed that the Trump administration planned to limit invitations to the administration’s scheduled business meeting at the White House.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News that Democratic governors were still invited to a separate bipartisan dinner at the White House, which is also part of the NGA Winter Meeting. Democrats, however, said they would not participate in the meal if they were not fully included in the business meeting.

In his Feb. 9 letter, Stitt told fellow governors that the NGA would no longer serve as the facilitator of the White House business meeting and the event would no longer be included on the Winter Meeting’s official program.

But on Feb. 11, Stitt told his fellow governors in a letter that all members were invited to the event and cited a “misunderstanding in scheduling” after he got in contact with Trump.

“I am writing to inform you that President Donald J. Trump is inviting all governors of the 55 States and territories to the Friday, Feb. 20 NGA Business Breakfast,” Stitt wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and CNN. “He was very clear in his communications with me that this is a National Governors Association’s event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country. President Trump said this was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding in scheduling.”

Trump took to Truth Social on Feb. 11 to dispute the claims Stitt made in his letter two days earlier.

“The invitations were sent to ALL governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there,” Trump said in one Truth Social post. “I look forward to seeing the Republican governors, and some of the Democratic governors who were worthy of being invited, but most of whom won’t show up.”

Brandon Tatum, the NGA’s chief executive, stood by the association’s timeline of events.

“As of (the evening of Feb. 10), only Republican governors received invites from the White House for the Friday morning business meeting,” Tatum said in a statement shared last week.

On Feb. 13, Mills said she was planning to attend the NGA event at the White House and would be “ready to stand up for our state and Maine people.”

“We’ve seen this president undermine the rule of law and trample on the Constitution at every turn and try to attack and intimidate those who dare to stand up to him or disagree with him – like he did to me last year. I will not hesitate to stand up to him again to protect Maine,” Mills said in her statement shared on Feb. 13.

But the outlook for the meeting changed again this week after Trump initially refused to include Moore and Polis in the White House meeting and blasted them on social media as “not worthy of being there.”

The National Governors Association includes the governors of all 50 states and the governors of five U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Information from The Associated Press and CNN was used in this report.