Maryland Gov. Wes Moore takes over the chairmanship of the National Governors Association on Saturday, a role that allows him not only to advocate for governors but also provides a national perch to further raise his political profile.

Here are details on the governor’s new role.

A collision course with Trump?

The National Governors Association is a bipartisan organization that presses the needs of governors and states, particularly with the federal government.

That means that Moore is the spokesperson for his fellow governors when it comes to dealing with President Donald Trump and his administration.

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Whether that goes smoothly or the two tangle again remains to be seen.

One test will be in early 2027, when the National Governors Association holds a conference in Washington that typically includes a White House meeting and dinner with the president. Trump disinvited Moore and other Democrats from the White House events in 2026. Will that happen again?

Speaking to reporters at the NGA meeting in Oklahoma City on Thursday, Moore stressed the bipartisan nature of the organization.

“Progress is not partisan,” Moore said. “Progress actually has a deliberate and distinct focus on the people. Focusing on the issues that they care about and saying, ‘How can we move the ball forward together on things?’”

But when they squabble, both men benefit from the attention it draws from their voters.

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National attention

Moore already gets plenty of national attention and media exposure by virtue of his work in Maryland, being the nation’s only Black governor and as a potential candidate for president. The NGA chairmanship adds yet another reason for him to be booked at events and on cable TV shows.

Former Gov. Larry Hogan rocketed to national attention during his NGA chairmanship, which coincided with the stressful early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hogan booked an early meeting between the governors and national health experts before the pandemic fully spread across the U.S., giving governors key information to make policy decisions. He was on regular calls with the White House and lobbied for the feds to help states with testing.

Hogan, a Republican, often found himself counter to Trump and was unafraid to call out the president’s pandemic missteps, making him a darling of cable TV.

Moore already has gotten mileage out of his role as NGA vice chair over the past year, often appearing with the outgoing chair, Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

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A vision of service

Each NGA chair has an initiative, and you won’t be surprised to learn that Moore’s will be “Service United.”

During his first speech as chair on Saturday, Moore is expected to lay out plans to expand on Maryland’s service program that was one of the governor’s early accomplishments.

The state has two programs: Maryland Corps, which was on the books but never put into service, welcomes participants of all ages; and the Service Year Option, for young people recently out of high school. Both programs pair participants for a paid year of service with nonprofit groups, local governments and the like.

“I am a very big believer that service will save us because service saved me,” Moore told reporters Thursday, recounting his Army tenure.