The Slatest

At Least 35 Democratic Lawmakers Plan to Skip Trump’s Inauguration

Workers on Monday prepare the National Mall for the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

The list keeps growing. Ever since President-elect Donald Trump harshly criticized civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, more Democrats have said they will not go to Friday’s inauguration. The latest to join his name to the skip list? Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who is one of the top contenders to become the new head of the Democratic National Committee. “I will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate,” Ellison wrote on Twitter.

Some of the Democrats who have said they won’t attend didn’t exactly say it was because of Trump or as a sign of support for Lewis, but most did. As of Monday evening, these are the Democratic lawmakers who have said they won’t be going to the inauguration:

Rep. John Lewis (Georgia): “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said on NBC’s Meet the Press, adding that it would be the first inauguration he misses since he became a congressman.

Rep. Lucille Roybal Allard (California): “I thought long and hard about attending the Inauguration because I value our democracy and respect the office of the presidency, regardless of party. However, the disparaging remarks the President-elect has made about many groups, including women, Mexicans, and Muslims, are deeply contrary to my values,” she said in a statement.

Rep. Mark Takano (California): “I stand with @repjohnlewis and I will not be attending the inauguration,” Takano wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Illinois): “I could not look my wife, my daughters, or my grandson in the eye if I sat there and attended, as if everything that the candidate said about the women, the Latinos, the blacks, the Muslims, or any of those other things he said in those speeches and tweets, and that all of that is okay or erased from our collective memory,” Gutierrez said on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (California): “I was hopeful the President-elect would turn away from the divisive and contentious behavior exhibited during the campaign and embrace a message to unify all Americans. Sadly, we have witnessed one polarizing action after another,” DeSaulnier said in a statement. “As a student of American history, I cannot sit idly by and normalize a President who has displayed disregard for our past traditions and Constitution.”

Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (New York): “When you insult @repjohnlewis, you insult America,” Clarke wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Jared Huffman (California): “I have decided that instead of attending the inaugural ceremonies in Washington this month, I’ll spend time in California with my constituents making a positive difference in our community,” Huffman wrote on Facebook.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Washington): “I will not be attending Trump’s inauguration. I will be with the people of my district. #OurFirstStand,” Jayapal wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Barbara Lee (California): “Inauguration should be a celebration. But we have nothing to celebrate on Jan 20. Instead of attending, I will be organizing,” Lee wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Katherine Clark (Massachusetts): “I do not feel that I can contribute to the normalization of the president-elect’s divisive rhetoric by participating in the inauguration,” Clark wrote.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Oregon): “I will forgo the inauguration, spending the day instead in my district talking with Oregonians to hear their priorities, try to answer their questions, and prepare for the coming assault on the values and programs we hold dear,” Blumenauer wrote on Facebook.

Rep. Anthony Brown (Maryland): “Skipping Inauguration.@RepJohnLewis a civil rights hero. Enormous responsibility to be POTUS.I respect the office, can’t tolerate disrespect,” Brown wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Mark Pocan (Wisconsin): “After reading classified Russian hacking doc & @realDonaldTrump offensive tweets to @repjohnlewis I will not be attending the Inauguration,” Pocan wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio): “I will not be attending #Inauguration. I will be at home in Cleveland. #IStandWithJohnLewis,” Fudge wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Judy Chu (California): “After much thought, I have decided to #StandWithJohnLewis and not attend the inauguration,” Chu wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Maxine Waters (Califronia): “I never ever contemplated attending the inauguration or any activities associated w/ @realDonaldTrump. I wouldn’t waste my time,” Waters wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (New Jersey): “I do not intend to attend the inauguration of PE @realDonaldTrump. Instead, join me for an Interfaith Prayer Vigil,” she wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Steve Cohen (Tennessee): “I won’t attend #inauguration out of respect for @repjohnlewis & for unpresidential remarks,” Cohen wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Kurt Schrader (Oregon): “He’s the president of the United States now, so I’ll do my best to work with him when I think he’s doing the right thing for the country,” Schrader told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “But he hasn’t proved himself to me at all yet, so I respectfully decline to freeze my ass out there in the cold for this particular ceremony.”

Rep. Peter DeFazio (Oregon): “I usually do not attend presidential inauguration ceremonies and as a general rule try to avoid pomp and circumstance events in Washington,” DeFazio said.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (New York): “I will NOT be attending the inauguration for @realDonaldTrump!” Espaillat wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Dwight Evans (Pennsylvania): “I #StandWithJohnLewis. I will not be attending the inauguration. Russian hacking must be investigated and I do not support the repeal of ACA,” Evans wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (New York): “I will not be attending inauguration of @realDonaldTrump but WILL participate in the @womensmarch on January 21st,” Velazquez wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Arizona): “My absence is not motivated by disrespect for the office or motivated by disrespect for the government that we have in this great democracy, but as an individual act, yes, of defiance at the disrespect shown to millions and millions of Americans by this incoming administration, and the actions we are taking in this Congress,” Grijalva said on the House floor.

Rep. Ted Lieu (California): “I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis,” Lieu said in a statement.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (California): “I acknowledge the fact that he is the incoming president, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate that fact,” Lofgren said.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (New York): “The rhetoric + actions of @realDonaldTrump have been so far beyond the pale, I cannot in good conscience participate in this inauguration,” he wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Raul Ruiz (California): “A real president doesn’t attack the press because they ask tough questions,” Ruiz told the Desert Sun. “A real president doesn’t insult and bully celebrities or everyday Americans because they disagree with him. A real president doesn’t use the office to make millions more for his own wealth or his family’s wealth.”

Rep. John Conyers (Michigan): “I am not attending this year’s inauguration due to my concern over a number of divisive and inflammatory statements made by the president-elect,” Conyers said in a statement.

Rep. José Serrano (New York): “I will not attend the #inauguration2017 next week- cannot celebrate the inauguration of a man who has no regard for my constituents,” Serrano wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Adam Smith (Washington): “Believe me, I have a lot of statements against Donald Trump, his policies, and the way he behaves,” Smith said in an interview with the Stranger. “What he said in response to [Rep.] John Lewis’s comments was remarkably ignorant—even for him. [But] I’m not not going to the inauguration as a statement. I’m not going because I’d prefer to be home.”

Rep. Frederica Wilson (Florida): Wilson says she never planned to attend because her goddaughter is getting married that weekend. “My constituents have been calling and emailing me, asking me not to go to the inauguration,” Wilson told reporters in Miami on Monday. “They’re disturbed.”

Rep. Karen Bass (California): Bass asked her Twitter followers to vote on whether she’d go and her office later confirmed she won’t be attending the inauguration.

Rep. William Lacy Clay (Missouri): The lawmaker will be “back home in St. Louis speaking to school kids,” his spokesman said.