Ryan Nicol
Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch posted reflections on his family history, as well as recent problems facing the United States, as President-elect Joe Biden readies to be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.
“My dad, the late Bernard Deutch, served our country in battle, earning a Purple Heart fighting the Nazis at the Battle of the Bulge. He believed in America because of the opportunities it offered his immigrant father and the hope it offered the little guy to succeed,” Deutch wrote early Tuesday on Twitter.
“My mom, the late Jean Deutch, never got to go to college, but she made sure her five kids had that opportunity. She sat in the House gallery when her youngest son was sworn into Congress, and she was proud of the family she and my dad raised together. They cared for each other, for their family and for our country. I’ll be thinking about them and everyone just like them at the inauguration of President Joe Biden.”
Deutch originally backed former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. He switched his support to Biden when Bloomberg withdrew from the race after failing to make much of a dent despite spending heavily.
Deutch, who represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, then ran through a long list of people who he believed stood out over the last four years.
He highlighted Women’s March attendees and those who fought climate change. He made note of those who pushed for additional gun control reforms, as well as frontline health care workers who sacrificed during the pandemic. Deutch also discussed racial justice reformers who marched peacefully after George Floyd’s death and people who pushed back against President Donald Trump’s baseless claims the election was stolen.
“Yup, I’ll be thinking of all of them. And RBG [Ruth Bader Ginsburg]. And my friend John Lewis. And the America we love under leadership working to bring us together rather than trying to tear us apart,” Deutch added.
“Here’s to Joe and Kamala [Harris], our next President and Vice President of the United States. God bless America.”
Deutch is one of several Florida congressional delegation members — both Democrat and Republican alike — slated to attended Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. Biden is expected to be sworn in as President at noon.
