Rep. Karen Bass (D- Culver City) is the latest member of Congress to pass on attending the inauguration of President- elected Donald Trump on Jan. 20, pushing the total to as of Jan. 20 to almost 60.
“After receiving an overwhelming response on the twitter poll, I’ve decided not to attend the inauguration of President-elect Trump,” Bass wrote on her Twitter page on Jan. 17.
The congresswoman, whose district also includes Westwood and Mar Vista as well as South Los Angeles neighborhoods, asked her constituents for their advice via Twitter—Trump’s favorite means of communication, ironically— before reaching a decision
“I want to hear directly from my constituents. Do you guys think that I should attend the inauguration of President –elect Donald Trump?” she asked.
Response to Bass’ Twitter poll was overwhelmingly in favor of her not attending the inauguration, 84% to 16%.
Reaction to the four-term congresswoman’s decision appeared to be mixed on social media, with some questioning her choice to rely on social media responses while others cheered her for pledging not to attend.
Bass joins the vast majority of the California congressional delegation in choosing not to attend the inauguration. Rep. Ted Lieu (D- Marina del Rey) was one the first local legislator to forcefully speak out against attending the ceremony.
“I respect members of Congress who choose to attend the Inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump or choose not to, just as I respect members of Congress who attended or did not attend the two Inaugurations of President Barack Obama. I view this as a personal decision because no votes are being taken and no policies will be enacted at this ceremony,” Lieu wrote to his constituents on Jan. 14. “While I do not dispute that Trump won the Electoral College, I cannot normalize his behavior or the disparaging and un-American statements he has made.
“Trump–who lost the popular vote–has made a series of racist, sexist and bigoted statements. In addition, he has attacked Gold Star parents, veterans such as John McCain and now civil rights icon John Lewis,” Lieu continued.
Lieu also addressed Trump’s vigorous and continuous assertions until recently that he isn’t sure that Russia was involved trying to disrupted the presidential campaign by hacking the Democratic National Committee on orders from Russia President Vladimir Putin, despite every U.S. intelligence agency’s conclusions to the contrary.
“He also continues to believe Vladimir Putin over our intelligence services and is actively misleading the American people when he denies Putin ordered a brazen, multifaceted cyber-attack on America to benefit Trump,” wrote Lieu, who was recently appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Bass, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, joined her committee colleagues earlier this month by asking for confirmation that the FBI is investigating “any connection between the Russian government and Donald Trump, his business or the Trump presidential campaign.”
Several of those who will not be present at the swearing in ceremony point to Trump’s disparaging statements about minorities, women and the physically challenged during his primary and presidential campaigns as well as the Russian hacking scandal. More recently, House Democrats have rallied around Rep. John Lewis (D- Atlanta), a civil rights icon who Trump attacked via Twitter after Lewis questioned Trump’s legitimacy for becoming resident, citing the Russian hacking.
Lewis has also said he will not attend Trump’s swearing in.