Trump Spurned By Dozens In Congress Not Attending Inauguration
At least 71 Democrat representatives will not be attending the inauguration
At least 701members of Congress won’t be attending the inauguration of Donald Trump, most of them to protest that a man who has offended them, their colleagues, and/or their constituents is about to become one of the most powerful people in the world. Most announced they were refusing to go after Trump attacked Rep. John Lewis over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
All of the boycotters are Democrats from the House of Representatives; so far no Republican nor a senator from any party has joined them, though several have expressed their serious concerns about Trump. And some of the people who are not attending have said they are not doing so as a protest, but rather because they have previous commitments, are recovering from surgery, or just don’t attend such events as a matter of course. At least one, Louise Slaughter, has said that she won’t attend the inauguration itself but will attend other inauguration events.
Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer seemingly shrugged off the announced absences, saying on Tuesday that the tickets for the lawmakers’ “great seats” would just go to other people.
According to the Sacramento Bee, this may be the largest boycott of a presidential inauguration in history, but, Senate historian Betty Koed told the paper, about 100 congresspeople usually skip inaugurations for various reasons.
Here are the names of the people who have said they are not attending:
Alabama
Terri Sewell
Arizona
Ruben Gallego
Raúl Grijalva
California
Karen Bass
Tony Cárdenas
Judy Chu
Mark DeSaulnier
Jared Huffman
Barbara Lee
Ted Lieu
Zoe Lofgren
Alan Lowenthal
Jerry McNerney
Grace Napolitano
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Raul Ruiz
Mark Takano
Juan Vargas
Maxine Waters
D.C.
Eleanor Norton
Florida
Alcee Hastings
Darren Soto
Frederica Wilson
Georgia
John Lewis
Illinois
Luis Gutiérrez
Dan Lipinsky
Mike Quigley
Jan Schakowsky
Pete Visclosky
Kentucky
John Yarmuth
Maine
Chellie Pingree
Maryland
Anthony G. Brown
Jamie Raskin
Massachusetts
Michael Capuano
Katherine Clark
Michigan
John Conyers Jr.
Minnesota
Keith Ellison
Mississippi
Bennie Thompson
Missouri
Lacy Clay
New Hampshire
Carol Shea-Porter
New Jersey
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Donald Payne Jr.
Albio Sires
New York
Yvette Clarke
Adriano Espaillat
Grace Meng
Jerry Nadler
José E. Serrano
Louise Slaughter
Nydia Velázquez
North Carolina
Alma Adams
G.K. Butterfield
Ohio
Marcia Fudge
Oregon
Earl Blumenauer
Peter DeFazio
Kurt Schrader
Pennsylvania
Brendan Boyle
Robert A. Brady
Mike Doyle
Dwight Evans
Tennessee
Steve Cohen
Texas
Joaquin Castro
Lloyd Doggett
Al Green
Filemon Vega
Virginia
Don Beyer
Gerald Connolly
Donald McEachin
Washington
Pramila Jayapal
Adam Smith
Wisconsin
Mark Pocan