Instead, she’ll stay in the Seattle area and be with immigrants and immigrant advocates.
Indian American Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has announced her decision to join civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis and at least 18 other members of Congress and skip President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration this week. The congresswoman will stay in the district and be with constituents who are immigrants and immigrant advocates to hear their concerns, and discuss a plan of action moving forward.
“I did not undertake the decision lightly. I had hoped in the days following the election that we would see a President-elect who broke from his campaign rhetoric and worked to unite the American people. Instead, we have seen this President-elect continue to use language and take actions that demean our history and our heroes, and undermine our democracy,” Jayapal said in a statement on Sunday.
“My decision to be here in the district with my constituents who are truly terrified that they will no longer have a home in this city and country was not, at the time, a boycott of the inauguration…I believe my first responsibility is to listen to my constituents and to be with them, through the darkest of times,” she said.
Jayapal said she does understand that she and others are breaking from long-standing tradition of bipartisan attendance at the presidential inauguration.
“If we are worried about breaking from long-standing tradition, let us focus on the fact that when this President is sworn in on January 20, he will be in violation of the Constitution, the very document that he will swear to protect and defend. His disregard for the conflicts of interest he brings into this office, and his refusal to address those conflicts are the break from tradition on which we should focus,” Jayapal said.
Earlier this month, Jayapal alleged that Trump’s Cabinet appointments underscore the grave threat to the country that his presidency represents. She is also the only lawmaker to oppose Trump’s presidential victory confirmation during the joint session of the congress.
Social Media Updates:
“All talk and no action”? @realDonaldTrump, here’s @RepJohnLewis leading peaceful protesters across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 1965 pic.twitter.com/uc55u0SzSA
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) January 14, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump: @repjohnlewis stands for best of everything in America. If anyone knows about action not words, it's him. #ImWithJohn
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) January 14, 2017