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California Congress members opt out of Trump's inauguration
Congressional candidate Ted Lieu speaks to supporters during his election gathering at the Proud Bird near LAX on Tuesday night, June 3.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Some members of Congress from California have announced they will not attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremonies next week, including several who said they made the decision this weekend after Trump's rebuke of Georgia Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.
In Southern California, Rep. Ted Lieu, Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Judy Chu and Rep. Maxine Waters joined at least 15 other Democrats in Congress who have indicated they will also not be attending the event.
https://twitter.com/MaxineWaters/status/820675584418267136
https://twitter.com/repmarktakano/status/820305835524034560
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https://twitter.com/RepJudyChu/status/820434659595194368
Lieu released a statement Saturday counting several more reasons he will not attend the inauguration. Among them are disparaging remarks Trump has made about Sen. John McCain, and Gold Star parents, the mothers and fathers of American troops killed in military service.
“I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis."
On Sunday, Rep. Karen Bass called on constituents in a Facebook Live video to express their opinions on whether she should attend or not by voting in a Twitter poll.
In Northern California, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier posted to Twitter a similar sentiment in a video on Friday. He represents the 11th Congressional district, covering much of Contra Costa County.
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https://twitter.com/RepDeSaulnier/status/820095627983982593
Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat representing the East Bay, also announced Thursday she would not attend the inauguration.
https://twitter.com/RepBarbaraLee/status/819577933794832385
And Rep. Jared Huffman announced on Facebook he would spend inauguration day "doing positive things" in his district, which covers Marin County north to the Oregon state line.
This story has been updated.
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