62 Politicians Boycotting Donald Trump’s Inauguration – and Why (Updating)

Every elected official (so far) who’s boycotting or skipping Trump’s big day

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Congressional Democrats are announcing in droves they won’t attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and we’ll be updating the list of politicians who will boycott Trump.

The number of lawmakers boycotting the inauguration shot up after Trump lashed out on Twitter at Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the Civil Rights icon who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and who said on “Meet the Press” this weekend that he would boycott the inauguration because he doesn’t think Trump’s presidency is legitimate.

Trump responded by tweeting that Lewis was “all talk, talk, talk,” and that he should “spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart.” Then on Tuesday, Trump tweeted again, saying Lewis had claimed Trump’s was the first inauguration he’d boycotted. “WRONG (or lie)!” Trump wrote.

Many Democrats have announced they won’t attend the inauguration in support of Lewis, but they’re citing plenty of other reasons, including Trump’s insults against women and minorities, his attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the reports of Russian hacking in attempts to sway the election in his favor.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry added his name to the list of Democrats who won’t be celebrating the new president this week.

A State Department official told Fox News Kerry wouldn’t attend the inauguration, but didn’t say why. But this development comes just a day Kerry gave Trump a pretty good zinger at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, in which Kerry implied that Trump might not complete a full term in office.

“It will hurt for the endurance of a year, two years, whatever — while the administration is still there,” Kerry said, discussing why the Trump administration could not pull out of the multinational nuclear deal with Iran. As Business Insider reports, the remark drew laughs from the crowd, and Kerry even smiled in response.

Here’s the complete, and growing, list of lawmakers who are boycotting the inauguration — as well as those who aren’t attending, but don’t say they’re boycotting.

BOYCOTTING

Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Alabama)

Sewell cited Trump’s treatment of Lewis as the driving reason she won’t attend the inauguration.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona)

Trump’s disrespect for the family of Capt. Humayun Khan and Lewis, as well as his role in the birther conspiracy, are the reasons Gallego pointed to when he announced on Twitter he wouldn’t attend the inauguration.

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Arizona)

“After the press conference that Donald Trump had, it struck me as very clear that the horse is not going to change colors,” Grijalva told the Arizona Republic. He said he’ll be home working with constituents rather than attending the inauguration.

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.)

Shea-Porter is headed to religious services rather than the inauguration, where she plans to pray for our leaders.

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-California)

“A real president doesn’t use the office to make millions more for his own wealth or his family’s wealth,” Ruiz told the Desert Sun, citing Trump’s lack of respect for the presidency and for others.

Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.)

Cardenas is skipping the inauguration and attending the Women’s March on Washington with his family instead, he announced on Facebook.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-California)

Chu is supporting Lewis by skipping Trump’s inauguration.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-California)

https://twitter.com/wilfredchan/status/820841934650425344

In a statement to journalist Wilfred Chan, Roybal-Allard said it the “disparaging remarks the President-elect has made against many groups” are “deeply contrary to my values,” so she won’t be attending the inauguration.

Rep. Mark Takano (D-California)

Takano also stands with Lewis in choosing not to attend the inauguration.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-California)

Bass put the inauguration question to Twitter in a poll. After the overwhelming majority voted against her attendance, she officially announced she wouldn’t be going.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California)

No minced words for Waters, who said on Twitter she wouldn’t waste her time attending the inauguration.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California)

“While I do not dispute that Trump won the Electoral College, I cannot normalize his behavior or the disparaging and un-American statements he has made,” Lieu said in his statement about skipping the ceremony.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California)

Lofgren told the Los Angeles Times she won’t attend, noting, “I acknowledge the fact that he is the incoming president, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate that fact.”

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-California)

It’s “deep personal conviction” that’s keeping DeSaulnier from attending the inauguration.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California)

“On Jan. 20th, I will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House,” Lee said in a statement. Instead, she wrote, she’ll be “organizing and preparing for resistance” on Inauguration Day.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California)

On Facebook, Huffman wrote that he will spend Inauguration Day with his constituents “making a positive difference in our community.”

Rep. Juan Vargas (D-California)

Vargas said on Twitter he will be home “praying for our country and for our community with the people of my district” during the inauguration. “I studied to be a priest for a long time and we all make mistakes, but the things that he has said, the mocking of disabled people in particular, the things he’s said about Mexicans, it would be very hard for me to be in a place like that celebrating,” Vargas told the Los Angeles Times.

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Florida)

https://twitter.com/RepHastingsFL/status/821433442848174080

Hastings announced he would boycott the inauguration and stay in Florida with a statement. “This decision is not a protest of the results of the Electoral College, but rather, an objection to the demagoguery that continues to define the incoming administration,” he wrote.

Rep. Darren Soto (D-Florida)

Trump’s Twitter remarks about Lewis were enough to push Soto off the inauguration attendee list, he told WFTV.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia)

Lewis said on “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t think Trump’s presidency is legitimate.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Illinois)

Gutierrez is heading to the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21 rather than the inauguration, and announced as much on the floor of the House of Representatives. “The reason I’m not going is I can’t bring myself to justify morally or intellectually the immense power we are placing in that man’s hands,” he said.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Illinois)

The Chicago Tribune reports Quigley’s spokesperson said he will not attend the inauguration.

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Illinois)

Lipinski is not attending the inauguration, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois)

Schakowsky said in a statement on Twitter she’ll be at Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington and is skipping the inauguration. “My consituents and I are fired up in opposition to the Trump Agenda and are determined not to allow Republicans to destroy the hard-fought progress we’ve made,” she wrote.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky)

Yarmuth says skipping the inauguration is a way to “send the message” that Trump’s behavior, including his remarks about women, people of color, and Lewis, “are not acceptable from the leader of our nation.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)

Pingree issued a statement saying Trump’s actions “threaten the constitutional values our country is based on.” She’s skipping the inauguration because “I won’t dignify or normalize those threats by standing by at his ceremony.”

Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Maryland)

For Brown, Trump’s disrespect of Lewis was enough reason not to attend the inauguration.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland)

“The moral and political legitimacy of this president are in the gravest doubt,” Raskin wrote in a statement announcing he wouldn’t attend, posted on Twitter.

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts)

https://twitter.com/RepMikeCapuano/status/821772811580669954

In a statement provided to the Boston Globe, Capuano said, “I am deeply disappointed in the way President-elect Trump attacked Rep. John Lewis, a personal friend and hero to so many Americans. The President-elect cannot mold the world simply by saying so. But his words do matter, now more than ever, and he has given no indication of recognizing this.”

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts)

In a statement posted to Twitter, Clark said, “After discussions with hundreds of my constituents, I do not feel that I can contribute to the normalization of the President-elect’s divisive rhetoric by participating in the inauguration.”

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan)

In a statement issued after Trump’s tweets against Lewis, Conyers said he was missing the inauguration because of “my concern over a number of divisive and inflammatory statements made by the president-elect,” the Detroit News reported.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota)

Ellison leaned into the brevity of Twitter for his announcement: Trump “preaches a politics of division and hate,” he said.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi)

Thompson’s legislative director, Cory Horton, told the Clarion Ledger that Thompson won’t attend the inauguration because of Trump’s remarks about Lewis, and because of concerns about Russian involvement in the election.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-New Jersey)

Payne issued a statement saying he won’t attend the inauguration because Trump “has proven unfit to hold” the office of the presidency.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-New Jersey)

Watson Coleman will attend an interfaith prayer vigil in Trenton, NJ, instead of the inauguration. “The constituents of the New Jersey’s 12th District is a cross section of the many groups and millions of Americans that this incoming Administration has turned its back on,” she said in a statement, News 12 New Jersey reported.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-New York)

Clarke is standing with Lewis, and skipping the inauguration.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-New York)

The tone of Espaillat’s tweet looks to be all the explanation necessary for his not attending.

Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York)

Meng wrote in a statement she had hoped Trump would “put an end to his inflammatory rhetoric.” She won’t attend the inauguration because “the President-elect must get the message that his antagonistic and divisive comments are unacceptable. We cannot tolerate attacks on women, minorities or a civil rights icon.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York)

Nadler said on Twitter his conscience won’t let him attend after witnessing Trump’s “rhetoric + actions.”

Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-New York)

Serrano’s skipping the inauguration, saying on Twitter Trump “has no regard for my constituents.”

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-New York)

Slaughter told the Democrat and Chronicle she stands with Lewis in skipping in the inauguration.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-New York)

Velazquez cited the “tone” of the Trump campaign when announcing on Twitter she wouldn’t attend the inauguration.

Rep. Alma S. Adams (D-North Carolina)

“I cannot in good faith and consciousness pretend to celebrate the inauguration of someone who has spoken so horribly about women, minorities and the disabled,” Adams said in a statement posted to Twitter. “Instead, I am staying home to continue working toward our priorities and to meet with my constituents, many of whom are fearful of what lies ahead.”

Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina)

Butterfield cites Trump’s “brand of division & insult” and his belief that “it would be hurtful to my constituents for me to attend” as reasons to boycott the inauguration.

Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio)

Fudge cited Trump’s treatment of Lewis as her reason for staying home.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon)

“Here is a person who ran a campaign that is the antithesis of everything I’ve worked for in public service,” Blumenauer told Oregon Public Broadcasting. He announced on Facebook he would spend the time talking with his constituents in Oregon.

Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Oregon)

DeFazio said in statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting he doesn’t usually attend Washington celebrations like the inauguration, so skipping the ceremony isn’t out of the ordinary for him.

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon)

“I’m just not a big Trump fan,” Schrader told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “I’ve met the guy and never been impressed with him. 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. 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. Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania)

Boyle calls Trump’s election “a grave mistake” on Facebook, and while he thinks it’s wrong to challenge the legal legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, he says he won’t attend the inauguration to celebrate it.

Rep. Robert A. Brady (D-Pennsylvania)

Brady said in an interview with ABC6 in Pennsylvania that he’s sitting out the inauguration to support Lewis.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania)

Doyle wrote on Twitter he’d support Lewis by skipping the inauguration.

Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania)

Russian hacks, attacks on Lewis and Republicans plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act have Evans skipping the ceremony.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)

Castro won’t attend the inauguration because of Trump’s “utter lack of respect for so many Americans.” He cited Trump’s Twitter attack on John Lewis as the “latest example.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)

Doggett announced he’d skip the inauguration on Twitter. In his statement, he wrote of Trump, “By repeatedly taking the lowest road, he is not showing respect for the highest office. We are in for a long struggle that must strategically utilize every nonviolent opposition tool available.”

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)

“I will not attend the inauguration because conscience says it is the right thing to do,” Green said in an interview with the Texas Tribune.

Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas)

On Twitter, Vela cited two recent events that left him with “no choice but to boycott” the inauguration. “Mr. Trump’s repeated acts of disrespect for the 33 million Americans of Hispanic descent are historic in modern times,” he wrote.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee)

It’s out of respect for Lewis and because of Trump’s remarks that Cohen is skipping the ceremony, he said on Twitter.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia)

Beyer writes that Trump’s “values and actions are the antithesis of those I hold dear,” and while Beyer says he respects the transition of power, he’s not attending the inauguration because he won’t “be part of normalizing or legitimizing” the Trump presidency.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia)

“After long reflection I have decided that I cannot attend the inauguration of Donald J Trump on Friday,” Connolly wrote in his statement announcing he would skip the inauguration. “His behavior and harmful words during and after the campaign have left the country I love with open, bleeding wounds.”

Rep. A. Donald MacEachin (D-Virginia)

In his statement, MacEachin wrote, “I have never seen a campaign based on so much hatred.” He said his train ticket to the inauguration would go unused. “I’m not sure what there is to celebrate.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington)

Jayapal said on Twitter she is staying “with the people of my district” rather than heading to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin)

Pocan wrote on Twitter that Trump needs to start acting like the president, instead of “an immature, undignified reality star with questionable friends and a Twitter addiction.” He pointed to Trump’s treatment of Lewis, his conflicts of interest and the reports of his ties to Russia as his reasons for skipping the inauguration.

NOT ATTENDING

Secretary of State John Kerry

Fox News reports Kerry won’t attend the inauguration, according to a State Department official. The official did not say why Kerry would not attend, but Kerry zinged Trump Tuesday when he joked that the new administration couldn’t pull out of the US’ nuclear deal with Iran because Trump wouldn’t make it through a full presidential term.

Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-California)

According to the Los Angeles Times, Napolitano is not attending the inauguration.

Rep. John McNerney (D-California)

The Stockton Record reports that McNerney isn’t attending the inauguration because of a scheduling conflict.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Florida)

Wilson told Miami’s 7 News that she has a wedding to attend on Jan. 20 and so won’t make the inauguration.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois)
The Chicago Tribune reports Rush won’t attend the inauguration because his wife is currently hospitalized.

Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Missouri)

According to a report from St. Louis Today, Clay will spend Inauguration Day speaking to school kids in his district.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington)

Smith told news station King 5 he is spending the day in his Washington state office working with constituents.

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