WASHINGTON – Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s historic inauguration on Monday, her spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY.
Her office did not say why she planned to skip the ceremony. But she is among several Democrats who will be absent after a bruising election season in which Republicans swept the White House as well as the House and Senate.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat and vocal Trump critic, told USA TODAY in December “I won’t pretend to normalize who or what he stands for.”
The inauguration also takes place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and several lawmakers have said they will be attending celebratory events in their states or districts.
“I’ll be in town with my constituents honoring Dr. King’s legacy,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Ohio. “I don’t think being there does that.”
However, a number of Democrats from districts or states that swung toward Trump in the last election still plan to go, despite their ideological differences with the incoming president.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he plans to go, adding, “I think Georgians expect me to be.” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., similarly has said his attendance was never in question: “I think it’s a responsibility.”
Pelosi and Trump have long had a contentious relationship. In one viral moment, she ripped up his State of the Union remarks in 2020. She called him a “domestic enemy” in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the U.S. Capitol building. Trump has called her a “nasty, vindictive, horrible person” and mocked her husband when he was attacked in their San Francisco home.
Savannah Kuchar and Sudiksha Kochi contributed.
