Rep.-elect Issa says Trump should attend Biden inauguration

Rep.-elect Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday he hopes President Trump will attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next month amid speculation Trump could skip the quadrennial affair.

“You know since George Washington there has been a peaceful transition of power, and I think it’s important that it continue, so yes of course I would,” he said at The Hill’s event “Meet the New Members” when asked if Trump should attend the Jan. 20 inauguration.

“The reality is when the outgoing and the incoming president join, it is a unique time. It’s a time in which America respects both of these as they transition, and it’s an important time, and I hope it will occur.”

Issa is the latest Republican to indicate that Trump should attend the event signifying the peaceful transition of power. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top White House ally, said last month before Biden’s victory was certified by the Electoral College that doing so would be “good for the country.”

Issa is known to be close to Trump. He endorsed him in 2016 and was nominated to lead the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, though he never received Senate confirmation for the job.

Trump has refused to concede his loss to Biden even after the Electoral College earlier this week certified Biden’s win in the White House race. 

The president and his allies have launched a sweeping legal campaign looking to overturn the election, claiming that widespread voter fraud cost him reelection. However, virtually all of the lawsuits have been tossed out, including by some Trump-appointed judges, for lack of evidence or standing. 

Issam, who is entering his second stint in the House, recognized Biden’s victory, telling moderators Bob Cusack and Steve Clemons that “Joe Biden will be our president come Jan. 20.”

The Hill’s “Meet the New Members” event was sponsored by Philips Morris International and Mastercard.