Dems' growing boycott
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More than a dozen congressional Democrats plan to sit out President-elect Trump's inauguration. Many more are anxiously grappling with whether to attend, Axios' Andrew Solender and Erin Doherty report.
- Why it matters: Not every Democrat skipping the ceremony will do so to protest Trump. But a formal boycott is materializing as a first act of resistance against the incoming president.
For many Democrats, the scars of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol remain fresh.
- "For somebody who said he's going to lock me up, I don't see the excitement in going to see his inauguration," former Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Axios wryly.
- Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Axios he "cannot be a part of that spectacle," as someone who was "locked in my office ... as the insurrectionists tried to overthrow our government."
⚡ State of play: The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday coincides with the Jan. 20 inaugural ceremony. That gives many Democrats an easy out. Others planning to stay away cited a distaste for inaugurations, a loathing of Trump — and even fears for their safety.
- Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said that as a Latina, she doesn't "feel safe coming" with Trump's supporters flooding in for the ceremony. "I'm not going to physically be in D.C. on that day," she told Axios.
- Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said that attending MLK Day events instead "makes sense, because why risk any chaos that might be up here?"
"There are civil rights organizations that are trying to set up alternatives," said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), adding that Trump's inauguration "seems like the worst place to spend Martin Luther King Day."
- Several progressives predicted the boycott won't be confined to the party's left flank.
The bottom line: A sizable number of Democrats are prepared to grit their teeth and show up — if only to try to rebuild public faith in national institutions after the events that followed the 2020 election.
- "I'm planning to attend ... because I believe in the peaceful transition of power and I respect the Office of the President," Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) told Axios.
Axios' Stephen Neukam and Stef Kight contributed reporting.
