Some say they have a responsibility to attend; others say they haven't thought about it; still other Democrats say there's no way they will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
According to USA Today, Democrat lawmakers are torn about whether to attend the swearing-in of Trump, whose dominant victory over Vice President Kamala Harris is sending him to a second term regardless. Dozens of Dems skipped Trump's 2017 inauguration.
"I'll be in attendance," Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., told the outlet. "And I think Georgians expect me to be."
Ditto for Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who told USA Today that "it's a responsibility."
Then there's the noncommittal.
"That's a good question," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said. "I haven't thought about it."
"I'm not quite sure what I would be celebrating with his inauguration," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told USA Today.
Other noncommittal Democrats include Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as well as Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., according to the report.
Given that Jan. 25 is also the federal holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., it provides a natural out for other Democrats.
"To go and to celebrate the transition of power to someone who wants to decimate everything that Martin Luther King stood for on Martin Luther King Day as a civil rights lawyer seems a little absent-minded to me, so I personally am not interested," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told the outlet.
"I'll be in town with my constituents honoring Dr. King's legacy," Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said. "I don't think being there does that."
While outgoing President Joe Biden is expected to attend, there have been no scheduling announcements from former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, or Bill Clinton, according to USA Today. Jimmy Carter, 100, remains in hospice.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said that it shouldn't be "abnormal" for a member of the other party to attend the inauguration.
"He's the president, got elected the majority of electoral votes, being inaugurated. I'm a member of Congress. I'm going to the inauguration," he told USA Today.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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