The number of Democratic lawmakers boycotting President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration has increased to 20, according to a Monday report from Fox News.
The most recent dropouts came as a result of the spat Trump had with Rep. John Lewis over the weekend on Twitter, according to Rep. Ted Lieu of California.
“For me, the personal decision not to attend [the] 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 prepared statement.
Lewis called Trump’s win “illegitimate,” in an interview with NBC News Friday, a move that prompted Trump to fire back a response on Twitter. “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!” Trump wrote in a pair of tweets early Saturday morning.
At the present time this is the full list of congressional politicians who have refused to attend the inauguration:
- Ted Lieu (D-CA 33rd District)
- John Lewis (D-GA 5th District)
- Luis Gutierrez (D-IL 4th District)
- Katherine Clark (D-MA 5th District)
- John Conyers (D-MI 13th District)
- Primila Jayapal (D-WA 7th District)
- Jared Huffman (D-CA 2nd District)
- Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA 11th District)
- Lacy Clay (D-MO 1st District)
- Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3rd District)
- Adam Smith (D-WA 9th District)
- Barbara Lee (D-CA 13th District)
- Raul Grijalva (D-AZ 3rd District)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR 5th District)
- Jose Serrano (D-NY 15th District)
- Nydia Velazquez (D-NY 7th District)
- Mark Takano (D-CA 41st District)
- Yvette Clarke (D-NY 9th District)
- Judy Chu (D-CA 27th District)
- Jerry Nadler (D-NY 10th District)
- Adriano Espaillat (D-NY 13th District)
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton responded with indignation with Trump refused to say whether or not he planned to support the results of the election if he lost in November.
“We know, in our country, the difference between leadership and dictatorship. And the peaceful transition of power is something that sets us apart,” Clinton said in October, going on to assert that Trump’s refusal “threatens Democracy.”
Sassy Liberty