Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks at a rally in Bozeman in support of himself, Tim Sheehy and former President Donald Trump on Aug. 9, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
Gov. Greg Gianforte was among Republican governors who met with former and incoming President Donald Trump on Thursday evening at his West Palm Beach estate at Mar-a-Lago.
“Looking forward to meeting with President Trump this evening to discuss our historic victories and how we can work together to Make America Affordable, Safe, Prosperous, and Great Again,” Gianforte said in post on X.
The visit takes place as Republicans take control of the White House and both the U.S. Senate and House.
Trump, who campaigned in Montana for the 2024 election, invited Gianforte and the other Republican governors for the dinner.
“We’re looking forward to the new administration coming in,” Gianforte said. “We have a lot of business to get done on behalf of our states. We’re just pleased to be here to meet with the president. It’s been a long period without cooperation from Washington.”
In November, Gianforte was elected as chairperson of the Republican Governors Association, and at the time, he said he looked forward to working with Trump to build “a safer, more prosperous future for all Americans.”
Of the country’s 27 Republican governors, 22 attended the dinner in order to help push a conservative agenda in states controlled by the GOP and launch work with a new Republican administration. Gianforte said several governor’s were absent due to conflicts with their inaugurations and one was delayed due to snow.
Gianforte said that Montana had struggled with federal overreach under the current administration, but he is optimistic that will change with Trump back in the White House.
“We’ve wrestled with overreach from the EPA, problems with other agencies, whether it’s Interior with public lands, I know each governor that’s standing up here has expressed frustration,” Gianforte said. “When President Trump was in office previously, we’d have periodic phone calls, regular interactions where we could express the concerns and really collaborate. We’ve had a number of situations with the current administration where it’s been crickets.”
Just this week, Gianforte invited Trump advisors and co-chairmen of the Department of Government Efficiency to visit Montana, touting his administration’s work cutting red tape. The chairmen are Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“As you begin this challenging process to reduce the administrative state, get spending, deficits and the national debt under control, and ultimately unleash American opportunity, know that my administration and I stand ready to work with you and your team,” he wrote in a Jan. 7 letter.
Reporter Micah Drew contributed to this story.