• At least three top Republicans plan to miss President Donald Trump's farewell ceremony on Wednesday.
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will attend church with Joe Biden.
  • Vice President Mike Pence is unable to make it due to logistical issues, The Washington Post said.

Vice President Mike Pence and the top two Republicans in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, plan to skip President Donald Trump's departure ceremony on Wednesday morning.

Trump, bucking tradition, is set to depart from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for his home in Florida at 8 a.m. ET without meeting with President-elect Joe Biden or attending his inauguration ceremony later in the day.

In most years, the outgoing president has met with the incoming president and first lady at the White House. After attending their successors' inauguration ceremonies, former presidents often depart from the Capitol in a military helicopter to head to Joint Base Andrews to fly off to begin their post-presidential life.

Axios reported on Tuesday that McConnell and McCarthy will attend a morning mass service scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. with Biden at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC, down the street from the White House. 

McConnell and McCarthy are not the only former Trump allies to snub his departure ceremony. This is a sign of the rift between Trump and Republican leaders, which was caused by the president's role in inciting the January 6 Capitol riot, for which the House impeached him on January 13.

The Washington Post reported that Trump's own Vice President, Mike Pence, will not be at his departure because he is also attending Biden's inauguration ceremony at the Capitol at noon and won't be able to make both work logistically. 

CNN reported that Trump "has been in a foul mood for several days and has lost interest in the performative parts of the presidency he once relished" but is looking forward to his sendoff ceremony. In addition to Wednesday's ceremony, Trump is also expected to release a farewell video address to be posted Tuesday. 

In addition to missing several key figures in the GOP, CNN also said that the crowd at Trump's departure looks like it'll be "smaller than hoped," with former White House chief of staff John Kelly and former White House counsel Don McGahn also declining invitations. 

The White House sent out invites far and wide and even allowed invitees to bring up to five guests of their own, Axios reported. Trump also wants his ceremony to include a "military-style sendoff" with a band and a flyover, the news outlet said, although it is unclear what the program will include. 

Even Anthony Scaramucci, who infamously served as the White House communications director for 10 days in summer 2017 and has since become a vocal Trump critic, said he got an invite to the event, telling Inside Edition: "Trust me, that had to be a mass email if one of them got sent to me."

Pence, McConnell, McCarthy are skipping Trump departure ceremony - Business Insider