U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Boston announced Monday that she won’t attend the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Instead, Pressley said she’ll spend the holiday weekend in her district, which includes Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea and several surrounding communities, to join with constituents in preparing for the incoming administration.
“I plan to spend the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in my district at community events that feed our collective soul and re-commit us to building a future rooted in love,” Pressley said in a statement to GBH News.
“As we prepare to mitigate the most harmful and hateful policy decisions that will come from the Trump White House, I will be in the Massachusetts 7th to help organize and mobilize our collective power that honors Dr. King’s vision of justice and equity for everyone who calls Massachusetts and America home,” Pressley added.
In the statement, Pressley’s office said she will host an event at a place of significance to King and Boston’s Black community at a location and time yet to be determined, at which community members will receive “a message of hope and tools to advocate for themselves and protect against the harm of the incoming administration.”
The event will feature local grassroots organizations that work with “vulnerable communities who stand to be harmed by a second Trump presidency,” according to Pressley’s office.
The announcement makes Pressley, the only person of color in Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation, the first delegation member to say she’s boycotting the inaugural.
While the decision is notable, the tenor of Pressley’s announcement does not come as a surprise. During Trump’s first term as president, Pressley was consistently among his harshest local critics, and frequently referred to him as “the current occupant of the White House.”
In 2017, about 70 Democrats in Congress boycotted Turmp’s first presidential inauguration after Trump and civil rights icon-turned-U.S. Rep. John Lewis publicly sparred over Trump’s legitimacy and Lewis’ legacy.
Pressley had not yet been elected to Congress in 2017, but Katherine Clark, who represents Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District, was among those who skipped the event.
At the time, Clark tweeted: “Families in my district are fearful that the anti-woman, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and divisive promises that drove the Trump campaign will become the policies affecting the health and safety of every American … After discussions with hundreds of my constituents, I do not feel that I can contribute to the normalization of the president-elect’s divisive rhetoric by participating in the inauguration.”
A spokesperson for Clark, who is now the Democratic minority whip, told GBH News that Clark will be attending Trump’s second inaugural.
“Following the January 6th attack on our democracy, it’s more important than ever that we honor the peaceful transfer of power and demonstrate our commitment to the rule of law and the will of the American people,” Clark said in a statement.
Politico reported Monday that several Democrats who skipped the 2017 inaugural have decided to attend or are considering attending this year’s.
In 2017, then-U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano also steered clear of Trump’s inauguration, instead hosting an open house in the 7th Congressional District. Pressley defeated Capuano in a Democratic primary the following year.
It was not immediately clear Monday if any other members of the Massachusetts delegation were considering joining Pressley in boycotting Trump’s second inaugural.
In addition to Clark, U.S. Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Jim McGovern, and Lori Trahan and Sen. Elizabeth Warren all plan to attend the ceremony, according to their spokespersons.
This story will be updated.
