With the inauguration ceremony taking place in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda — instead of the West Front — space is limited and the guest list is in flux.
The inaugural platform on the West Front is more than 10,000 square feet and can hold around 1,600 people, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The Capitol Rotunda is smaller — coming in at just over 7,000 square feet — and can only fit around 750 people, according to a source familiar with the planning who was not authorized to disclose the matter.
According to the JCCIC, the inaugural platform is usually reserved for the president and vice president and their families; the president-elect and vice president-elect and their families; the chief justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court; former presidents; the diplomatic corps; cabinet members and nominees; members of Congress; governors; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other guests.
Despite the space constraints, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will all attend the rotunda inauguration, according to a source familiar with the planning who was not authorized to disclose the matter.
Notably, the vice president of the People's Republic of China, Han Zheng, will also attend the rotunda ceremony, according to the Trump transition team.
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