Greitens and other GOP governors to gather at Trump resort, but Brownback will skip

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will join GOP governors from around the country this week at a luxury resort in Miami owned by President Donald Trump.

The Republican Governors Association will hold a two-day corporate policy summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, an 800-acre golf resort owned by the Republican president. Trump held multiple fundraisers at the resort during the 2016 campaign.

The event starts Tuesday.

Other governors in attendance will include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the RGA’s chairman, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott. One governor who won’t be there is Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, a Johnson County plastic surgeon who has taken an increasingly active role in the administration this year, will attend the event instead. The event takes place amid speculation that Brownback will leave the governor’s office for a position in the Trump administration in the near future.

Colyer’s spokeswoman, Laura McCabe, said Brownback decided to stay in Topeka while the Legislature continues its work trying to craft a new school finance formula and a fix for its $900 million budget gap.

“As Governor Brownback works in Topeka with the legislature to balance the budget and build a modern school finance system, the Lt. Governor — as he’s done in the past — will be representing Kansas and Governor Brownback at the upcoming RGA event,” McCabe said in an email.

Greitens’ spokesman, Parker Briden, said that the Missouri governor, who just wrapped up his first session, would use the event as a learning experience.

“We look forward to meeting with governors from around the country to discuss policy. Our focus every day is on more jobs, higher pay, safer streets, and better schools for the people of Missouri. When other successful Republican governors have innovative ways to make that happen, we’re excited to listen,” Briden said in an email. “We’ll also share insights and successes from our first months in office.”

The event is closed to the media, according to an RGA spokesman.

Missouri Democratic state chairman Stephen Webber blasted Greitens’ decision to attend the summit.

“After failing to deliver on his campaign’s biggest promise of ethics reform, it’s completely out of touch for Eric Greitens to vacation in Miami at a Trump resort,” he said. “Before skipping town, Greitens needs to give Missourians some honest answers on Trumpcare and its gutting of protections for people who’ve been sick before.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Greitens and other GOP governors to gather at Trump resort, but Brownback will skip."