Amid Trump-Lewis Spat, Rep. Al Green Becomes First Texas Democrat Who Will Skip Inauguration

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Al Green announced late Monday night that he will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday, becoming the first Texas Democrat in Congress to join a growing list of dissenters boycotting the event.Green, a Houston Democrat, took inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a statement released in the middle of the night, quoting the late civil rights leader on the importance of following your conscience even if the decision is “neither safe, nor politic, nor popular.”“I will not attend the inauguration because conscience says it is the right thing to do,” Green said.Though Green said he has been hearing from constituents about his inauguration attendance “for some time,” the timing of his decision makes him one of dozens of House Democrats that have publicized their plans to skip the event in the days since Trump hit back against Rep. John Lewis.After Lewis, a civil rights icon, said Friday that he does not consider Trump a “legitimate president” and announced plans to boycott his inauguration, Trump took to Twitter to lambast the Georgia Democrat.“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!"  Continue reading...