Skipping inauguration?
WASHINGTON — There’s a lot that Rep. Jared Huffman would rather do than go to Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. So he’s going to stay home.
“I’ll spend that day, and actually several days, in my district doing service events and community events to try to send a positive message with my time rather than sitting passively and applauding while something that I think is very dark and dangerous for our country begins,” said Huffman (D-San Rafael).
Among other things, Huffman plans to spend the weekend helping with a river cleanup, participating in a naturalization ceremony for new citizens and joining a women’s march against the Republican president-elect.
“I’m going to be far busier in my district and in my community doing positive things than I ever would have been coming to Washington for that ceremony,” Huffman said.
As of Thursday night, 38 lawmakers from California’s 55-member delegation said they planned to attend the inauguration and view the peaceful transfer of power. That includes all 14 of the delegation’s Republicans. Rep. Tom McClintock (RElk Grove) said: “I attended both of Obama’s. You better believe I’ll be attending Trump’s!”
But at least 12 California House Democrats are skipping the inauguration. An additional five say they are still trying to decide. Among the undecideds is Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who recently had a pacemaker installed. Her staffers said they weren’t sure of her plans.
Some told The Times last week that they were motivated to stay home after an outcry from constituents in a state that overwhelmingly picked Democrat Hillary Clinton for president; for others it’s because of Trump’s comments and the moves he’s made since building his Cabinet. Most of the members who aren’t going made up their minds not to attend even before Trump criticized civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (DGa.), who announced Friday that he wouldn’t be going and said he believed Trump wouldn’t be a legitimate president.
Rep. Barbara Lee (DOakland) said last week that her conscience won’t permit her to attend.
“An inauguration for me is a celebratory event, and while I appreciate and honor the peaceful transition of power, for me to celebrate someone who wants to build a wall, who wants to establish a Muslim registry, who wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and who has appointed a person as attorney general such as Jeff Sessions ... I can’t celebrate that,” Lee said.
“I acknowledge the fact that he is the incoming president, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate that fact,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose).
Rep. Mark Takano (DRiverside) said he sought advice from colleagues and constituents before ultimately deciding not to go.
“He’s shown such disrespect for some of the people I represent, and it’s a hard thing for me to get over and he’s not really dialed it back or tried to show that he’s going to be different,” Takano said. “I want to be respectful of the office, but at the same time I also want to represent my constituents.”
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) is using his week free of House votes to do his Air Force Reserve duty on Tuesday and Wednesday. He’ll be done before Friday’s ceremony, but said he doesn’t see the point of coming back for it.
Lieu and Trump will find topics to agree on, “but that doesn’t mean I need to be at his inauguration,” he said. “I’ll watch it on television, but do I want to ... spend taxpayer money to fly me here to watch it?”
Multiple members are still wrestling with the decision.
Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Los Angeles) said he’s struggling to give Trump the deference he would normally extend a president regardless of party, and hasn’t made up his mind.
“I think about all the people that he has offended, over and over, past and present, and it’s painful to think that I would bring myself to actually go out there and sit there and subject myself to him just 50 feet away,” Cárdenas said.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) is also leaning toward not going, though she’d like to say goodbye to President Obama. Her constituents voted overwhelmingly for Clinton, and she said they’re telling her not to go.
“I just don’t know that I want to be there,” Bass said. “For us to fly all the way back here, I just don’t know that I’m ready for that.”
sarah.wire @latimes.com Read more about the 55 members of California’s delegation at latimes.com/politics