Biden's inaugural committee is offering donors 'VIP' tickets to its virtual events


President-elect Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration will be smaller than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and much of the usual pageantry will be virtual. Biden's inaugural committee has urged people not to physically attend the inauguration but instead experience it at a distance, and members of Congress, who usually get to divide up 200,000 tickets for seats close to the inauguration platform, will get to bring just one guest each.
At the same time, Biden's allies are fund-raising for the celebratory post-swearing-in events more or less as if it were a normal inauguration, The New York Times reports. There are few legal limits on who can donate to an inaugural committee or how much they can give. Biden's committee has said it won't accept donations from fossil fuel interests, lobbyists, or foreign agents, but other corporations can give up to $1 million and individuals can donate up to $500,000. Any unused funds are typically donated to charity.
Big spenders can opt for "VIP participation" in a virtual concert, "VIP tickets" to a future celebratory event, invitation to virtual inauguration events, and "virtual signed photos" with Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and their spouses. Event planners are using the Democratic National Convention as a template for the "reimagined" parade and other events.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A coalition of about 50 progressive groups sent Biden's inaugural committee a letter Wednesday urging it to forego corporate donations. "The drive to raise so much money without a clear use for it is perplexing, and the appearance of doing so is disconcerting," the letter said. President Trump's 2017 inauguration, the Times notes, raked in $107 million and "became an access-peddling bazaar of sorts, and aspects of its record fund-raising and spending emerged as the subjects of investigations."
An inaugural committee spokesman declined to tell the Times how much has already been raised or what the goal is, but Biden has pledged to disclose all major donors before Jan. 20. This isn't the first presidential inauguration pared down due to a crisis, Rachel Maddow noted on MSNBC Wednesday night. She used Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first inauguration as an example, and she found more parallels than just the size and scope of the festivities. Peter Weber
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry
By The Week US
-
RFK Jr.: A public-health wrecking ball
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubles down on anti-vaccine policies amid a growing measles outbreak
By The Week US
-
Budget: Gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts?
Feature To extend Trump's tax cuts, the GOP is looking to cut Medicaid and other assistance programs
By The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US