Here Are the Democrats Boycotting Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Katie Reilly
Updated
Several decided to boycott after Trump's criticism of Rep. John Lewis

Several House Democrats have declared that they plan to boycott Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday, with the number increasing Saturday in the wake of the president-elect’s criticism of civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis.

By Saturday afternoon, 16 House Democrats had announced they would not attend Trump’s inauguration.

The number grew after Lewis said he doesn’t see Trump as a “legitimate president” and announced that he would not attend his inauguration—the first one he will miss since being elected to Congress. Trump fired back on Twitter, inspiring a backlash from Democratic leaders.

Rep. Ted Lieu, of California, said in a statement on Saturday that he would stand with Lewis.

“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. “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.”

Here are the House Democrats who have decided to boycott:

Georgia Rep. John Lewis
“I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said in a Meet the Press interview. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don’t plan to attend the inauguration. It will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in Congress.

California Rep. Barbara Lee
“On January 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. “Donald Trump has proven that his administration will normalize the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party. On Inauguration Day, I will not be celebrating. I will be organizing and preparing for resistance.”

California Rep. Ted Lieu

California Rep. Mark Takano

California Rep. Jared Huffman

“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,” he said in a Facebook post.

California Rep. Mark DeSaulnier

Illinois Rep. Luis Gutiérrez
“The reason I am not going is that I cannot bring myself to justify morally or intellectually the immense power we are placing in that man’s hands,” Gutiérrez said on the House floor on Tuesday.

Missouri Rep. William Lacy Clay
Clay plans to be “back home in St. Louis speaking to school kids” instead of attending the inauguration, his spokesman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday.

Michigan Rep. John Conyers
A spokesperson for Conyers confirmed to CNN and Politico that he would not be attending the inauguration.

Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark

New York Rep. Yvette Clarke

New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez

New York Rep. José Serrano

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva
“I will not be attending the inauguration of Donald Trump as our next president,” he said Friday on the House floor, CNN reported. “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.”

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer
“There is unprecedented concern by my constituents about the many threats posed by a Trump administration seeking to implement the President-elect’s policies on health, environment, nuclear weapons, and immigration, to name but a few. 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,” he said in a Facebook post on Jan. 7. “It is hard to think of a better use of my time on January 20th.”

Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader

“I’m just not a big Trump fan. I’ve met the guy and never been impressed with him,” Schrader told Oregon Public Broadcasting on Friday. “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.”