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More than 50 members of Congress are boycotting Trump’s inauguration

Trump picked a fight with the wrong Democrat.

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). CREDIT: Olivier Douliery / Pool via CNP / MediaPunch/IPX
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). CREDIT: Olivier Douliery / Pool via CNP / MediaPunch/IPX

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 members of Congress say they will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.

Fifty-five House Democrats have announced they intend to boycott the inauguration as a statement against Trump. Many of them are specifically unhappy about Trump’s public rant against civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) over the weekend. At least five other Democrats say they will not attend for other reasons but are not characterizing that decision as a protest against Trump, according to Fusion reporter Wilfred Chan.

The lawmakers who have said they are not attending Trump’s inauguration as an act of protest include:

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ)

Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ)

Rep. Karen Bass (CA)

Rep. Tony Cardenas (CA)

Rep. Judy Chu (CA)

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA)

Rep. Jared Huffman (CA)

Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)

Rep. Ted Lieu (CA)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA)

Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA)

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA)

Rep. Raul Ruiz (CA)

Rep. Mark Takano (CA)

Rep. Juan Vargas (CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (CA)

Rep. Darren Soto (FL)

Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL)

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL)

Rep. Mike Quigley (IL)

Rep. John Yarmuth (KY)

Rep. Katherine Clark (MA)

Rep. Anthony Brown (MD)

Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD)

Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME)

Rep. John Conyers (MI)

Rep. Keith Ellison (MN)

Rep. Lacy Clay (MO)

Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS)

Rep. Alma Adams (NC)

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (NC)

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH)

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ)

Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY)

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY)

Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY)

Rep. Jose Serrano (NY)

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY)

Rep. Marcia Fudge (OH)

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR)

Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR)

Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA)

Rep. Dwight Evans (PA)

Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)

Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX)

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX)

Rep. Al Green (TX)

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA)

Rep. Mark Pocan (WI)

Rep. Don Beyer (VA)

Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL)

Reps. Peter DeFazio (OR), Adam Smith (WA), Dan Lipinski (IL), Pete Visclosky (IL), Grace Napolitano (CA) and Eleanor Norton (DC) are not attending the event, though not necessarily to protest Trump.

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On Wednesday, Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD) said he would attend Trump’s inauguration, while Rep. Gwen Moore (WI) separately announced that she would attend as part of “The Resistance.”

In a NBC interview on Friday, Lewis said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration because he does not see him as a legitimate president. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” Lewis said.

In response, Trump sharply criticized Lewis on Twitter as “all talk, no action.” Dozens of congressional members rushed to defend Lewis, who is the remaining survivor of the Big Six leaders of the civil rights movement and who helped organize the March on Washington in 1963.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence and incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer lectured Lewis on how to fight for civil rights on Monday, the federal holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Pence told Fox News that he “was so disappointed” that “someone of John Lewis’ stature” would “lend credibility to the baseless assertions of those who question the legitimacy of the election is deeply disappointing.” Spicer echoed those sentiments on Fox News, scolding Lewis for being “such an icon of voting rights and civil rights,” and “mak[ing] a comment about the legitimacy of an election, something that he’s fought so hard to create the integrity of, to talk about delegitimizing an election.”

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The conflict between Lewis and Trump led to a sharp uptick in the number of House Democrats deciding to boycott the inauguration. Some Democrats are using the #StandWithJohnLewis hashtag on Twitter.

Some of the Democrats who are boycotting include Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, who tweeted, “I will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate.” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) said she wouldn’t attend because Trump’s “disparaging remarks” toward Mexican immigrants, women, and Muslims were “deeply contrary to my values.” And Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the longest serving black woman member in Congress, said that she “wouldn’t waste her time.”

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This list has been updated to include additional members of Congress who have said publicly that they will boycott Trump’s inauguration.