Some Dems won’t attend inauguration

Most legislators in S. Florida expected

When Donald Trump is inaugurated Friday as president, two South Florida members of Congress won’t be there — but they’re not necessarily the names or reasons that first come to mind.

South Florida’s most prominent Democrat, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, will be there. So will U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel. All three were prominent supporters of unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, appearing with her and on her behalf during last year’s campaign.

The no shows: U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Hastings is boycotting the event, joining more than 50 Congressional colleagues.

Wilson isn’t staying away for political reasons. Though several national news organizations have Wilson on her list of boycotters, her communications director Joyce Jones said she’s staying in Miami to attend her goddaughter’s wedding on Saturday.

“I wouldn’t characterize her as a boycotter as she is hoping to find areas of common ground on which she and the administration can work, such as job creation and rebuilding the nation’s crumbling transportation and infrastructure systems,” Jones said by email.

It’s not uncommon for members of Congress to miss an inauguration for family and personal reasons. But a boycott is unusual. Skipping the inauguration as a political statement developed momentum since late last week, when U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said he did not view Trump as “legitimate president.”

Trump responded on Twitter, calling Lewis “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!” Lewis was brutally beaten by Alabama state troopers on “Bloody Sunday,” during the famous 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery.

Hastings echoed Lewis in his explanation for joining the boycott.

“This decision is not a protest of the results of the Electoral College, but rather, an objection to the