Valley Congressmen Jim Costa, David Valadao attend President Joe Biden's inauguration

'I think it's important for the American people to heal and start to work together," Valadao said.

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Thursday, January 21, 2021
Valley congressmen attend President Joe Biden's inauguration
A pair of Valley Congressmen were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday to watch the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A pair of Valley Congressmen were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday to watch the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

"For Congress to show up and so many of our national leaders to be in one location and watch the peaceful transition of power was a pretty moving moment," said Republican lawmaker David Valadao.

Jim Costa was also there in attendance for his 6th Presidential inauguration.

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"President Biden could be like President Truman in this sense, a person with a lot of experience, a lot of understanding of what's possible and the American people. And understanding that they're hurting," said Costa.

Valadao called it an honor to witness the historic event.

"I think it's important for the American people to heal and start to work together and stop a lot of the divisive rhetoric and that goes on for both sides," said Valadao.

During this time of historic crises, Kamala Harris stepped into American history becoming the nation's first female Vice-President.

"To have a woman finally reflecting over half the country's population I think for young girls all around the country is source of inspiration," said Costa.

One person who decided to skip the inauguration was Donald Trump, becoming the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend his successor's swearing-in ceremony.

"I've gone through the process of losing a campaign before, I know what it's like. It's not fun but it's important that the next person in that job has the ability to move forward with the unification around that," said Valadao.

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