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Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will attend funeral service for John Lewis in Atlanta today - but NOT Donald Trump

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will be among those attending the funeral service for John Lewis where former Presiden...

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will be among those attending the funeral service for John Lewis where former President Barack Obama will eulogize the late congressman.
Lewis will be laid to rest on Thursday following a funeral service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta - marking an end to a six-day memorial. 
Sources told CNN Clinton and Bush are also expected to participate at the ceremony for the civil rights icon who had been lying in state since Monday.  
President Trump, meanwhile, has no plans to attend the funeral.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga will be laid to rest on Thursday
Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom  in 2011
Former President Obama will deliver a eulogy at John Lewis's funeral in Atlanta on Thursday. Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (right) in 2011 
Lewis's body has been lying in state since Monday. He is the first African American to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda since Rosa Parks
Lewis's body has been lying in state since Monday. He is the first African American to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda since Rosa Parks
President Donald Trump does not plans to attend the late congressman's funeral and did not pay his respects at the Dome of the Capitol this week
President Donald Trump does not plans to attend the late congressman's funeral and did not pay his respects at the Dome of the Capitol this week 



It comes after Trump said he would not visit the body of Lewis who had been lying in state in the Dome of the Capitol, the first African American to be given that honor since Rosa Parks.
'I won't be going. No,' Trump told reporters at the White House before he left for North Carolina on Monday. 
Lewis died on July 17 of pancreatic cancer at age 80 however, Trump did not address the congressman's death until the following day. 
'Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family,' he tweeted.     
Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement, had been battling the cancer since December and died after receiving hospice care in Atlanta.
Lewis kept up the fight for civil rights and human rights until the very end of his life, inspiring others with calls to make 'Good Trouble.' 
He was known to have a strong relationship with President Obama, who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.  
On Wednesday, congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle paid their respects at the Capitol Rotunda one last time before Lewis's body was flown to Atlanta.
Trump's absence was another break in convention for a president who has broken so many norms, and one that underscored his separation from much of Washington society, along with his dismal relationship with Democrats on Capitol Hill - especially members of color.
Trump had long harbored resentments toward Lewis.
Former President Bill Clinton is expected to participate at the funeral service on Thursday
Former President Bill Clinton is expected to participate at the funeral service on Thursday 
Lewis was known to have a strong relationship with President Obama. Above he is pictured at the dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016 with the Obamas and George and Laura Bush
 Lewis was known to have a strong relationship with President Obama. Above he is pictured at the dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016 with the Obamas and George and Laura Bush


A spokeswoman for Lewis brushed off any talk of politics when asked whether the Lewis family had any communication with the White House about whether Trump should attend, calling it 'irrelevant.'
'I would say that this is not a political event,' said Brenda Jones, the congressman's longtime spokeswoman. 
'It's our time to pay respect to a man who did a great deal for this country. And that's all we want it to be.'
Jones added that 'people can pay their respect in a lot of different ways. ... He has that right. Let him to do what he wants to do. And I'm sure that John Lewis would be supportive of it.'
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi blew a kiss toward the flag-draped casket of Rep. John Lewis on Monday in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The Senate and House leaders paid their respects together, from left to right: Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Texas, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi blew a kiss toward the flag-draped casket of Rep. John Lewis on Monday in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The Senate and House leaders paid their respects together, from left to right: Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Texas, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La
Lewis's body was later moved to the steps on the Capitol's east side for a public viewing
Lewis's body was later moved to the steps on the Capitol's east side for a public viewing 
The White House did not respond to questions about why the president did not attend.
However Trump's off-the-cuff declaration Monday afternoon that he wouldn't go caught some White House aides off guard, according to two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose private conversations.
While the chances of Trump going were always slim, there had been preliminary conversations in the West Wing about Trump potentially making a visit on Tuesday. Trump had previously expressed a reluctance to publicly mourn Lewis because he remained angry about the congressman's past criticisms.
While the president's lingering grudge played a role, White House officials also are leery of sending Trump places he isn't wanted and weren't sure what kind of reception he would have received.

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