The inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump will take place on Monday, January 20 at 12 p.m. EST. But the number of public servants who say they’re staying home is growing as the event nears.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not be present, ABC News reported. Pelosi’s office confirmed the democrat will skip the event, but did not offer a precise reason for her planned absence. Pelosi underwent a hip replacement surgery a little more than a month ago. Of course, Pelosi has frequently voiced disapproval of the president-elect and his past policies. As one of the most outspoken critics of Trump during his first term, Pelosi was also a target during the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Pelosi is far from alone in her perceived protest. According to a statement from her office, per Today, former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the event, either. Obama also did not attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter last week, while her husband, former President Barack Obama, was seated next to the incoming president and could be seen chatting and smiling with the president-elect.
According to Axios, Tennessee representative Steve Cohen won’t attend the swearing in due to the president-elect’s dangerous rhetoric which prompted the January 6, 2021 insurrection, as well as statements he’s since made on the fate of the insurrectionists.
“[Trump] has said he is going to pardon some of the January 6 prisoners at his inauguration,” Cohen told the outlet. “And as one who was in the gallery and then locked in my office in the early morning as the insurrectionists tried to overthrow our government and beat police, some to the point of death, I cannot be a part of that spectacle.”
California congresswoman Judy Chu won’t be there, either. But Chu says, per Newsweek, it’s because the inauguration falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “I’m not attending the upcoming inauguration. I will be in my district with my constituents for important events marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the second anniversary of a mass shooting in my hometown of Monterey Park.”
The outlet also reported that Rep. Kweisi Mfume, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Sean Casten, Rep. Delia Ramirez, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, and a number of others, will all skip the inauguration, while Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, and Raphael Warnock, are still undecided.
Top politicians skipping the presidential inauguration is rare, though it’s happened before. Trump declined to attend President Biden’s 2021 inauguration after refusing to acknowledge that Biden had won the election. Former first lady Melania Trump also skipped the event, as did Trump’s daughter and advisor, Ivanka Trump.
Other notable republicans, like Former Vice President Dick Cheney, didn’t attend either, though Cheney said it was over COVID concerns. Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis missed Biden’s inauguration, too, but said his absence was due to a recent foot surgery. And GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn’t go either. A spokesperson told USAToday at the time it was “primarily due to security concerns.”
Congressman Matt Gaetz attended virtually and echoed Taylor Greene’s reasoning in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Gaetz wrote, “I will proudly attend the inauguration virtually to avoid any additional security strain on those protecting the transition of power. “
Of course, while a number of politicians won’t be at Monday’s event, that doesn’t mean the crowd will be sparse. Filling out the seats will be some of the world’s richest people, like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, along with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
And while all the living former presidents will attend Trump’s inauguration, they won’t stick around to socialize. Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush will not attend the inaugural lunch, which always follows the swearing-in ceremony.