Who is and isn’t attending Trump’s 2025 inauguration?

Washington — President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on Monday as his inauguration ceremony is set to take place inside the U.S. Capitol in a break from tradition due to the record cold temperatures.

Expected to be in attendance at Trump’s inauguration were notable guests including foreign leaders and tech CEOs. But the large crowd of onlookers who had planned to view the swearing in ceremony from the Capitol grounds will be dramatically smaller Monday after the decision to move the swearing in ceremony to the space-limited Capitol Rotunda due to dangerously low temperatures. The last time the inauguration was moved inside due to cold weather was in 1985.

Here’s what to know about who’s attending Trump’s inauguration:

Who will be at Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration?

The usual crowd of lawmakers and officials are expected to attend Trump’s inauguration, in addition to the four other living presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and President Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris, who faced off against Trump in the 2024 election, is also expected to attend.

A slate of tech CEOs, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, TikTok’s Shou Chew and Google’s Sundar Pichai, were also expected to attend Trump’s inauguration. The tech titans, many of whom have cozied up to the president-elect in recent months, were slated to sit upon the inauguration dais alongside Cabinet nominees and elected officials, before the ceremony moved indoors.

A handful of foreign leaders are also expected to attend the inauguration, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. China’s vice president, Han Zheng, is also expected to attend to represent President Xi Jinping, who Trump invited to attend. According to State Department records dating back to 1874, a foreign leader has never attended a transfer-of-power ceremony. 

Performing at Trump’s swearing in ceremony are country star Carrie Underwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, while singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood, choirs from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Marine Band are expected to have musical contributions to the program. 

Who won’t be at the inauguration?

Former first lady Michelle Obama won’t be at Trump’s inauguration, and a reason has not been provided for her absence, which marks the sole absence among the living first ladies. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi likewise won’t be in attendance, and a spokesperson also did not provide a reason for her planned absence. Both women attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration.

Did Trump attend Biden’s inauguration?

Trump skipped President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, which occurred two weeks after the Jan. 6., 2021, attack on the Capitol and as Trump continued to claim victory in the 2020 election.

In choosing not to attend, Trump became the first president in more than 150 years to skip the ceremony where his successor was sworn in, and only the fifth in U.S. history to do so.

Mr. Biden’s inauguration also featured a smaller crowd than usual due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

contributed to this report.