The National Building Museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., are preparing inauguration dinners for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, respectively.
The black-tie, candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum is expected to be attended by Trump and his wife Melania, while a more intimate black-tie event at the National Gallery of Art will be held for Vance.
Major donors wishing to attend and be granted direct access to the private events around the swearing-in ceremony, however, will have to pay double compared to the first inauguration, according to fundraising materials.
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For a brief interaction with Trump and Vance, donors must contribute a minimum of $1 million to the committee as part of the highest-tier package. Last time, commiserate access cost $500,000.
There are five tiers of ticket packages for donating $1 million, $500,000, $250,000, $100,000, or $50,000.
While the purchase of two tickets provides access to dinner with Vance, the purchase of six tickets will get buyers to Trump’s candlelight dinner. Dinner with Trump costa $500,000; attendees in 2017 paid that amount to attend both dinners. Donors who spent $1 million in 2017 also received access to a leadership luncheon “with select special guests of Cabinet appointees and House and Senate leadership”. Those donating at the lowest tier will have access to the cabinet reception.
The inaugural committee has raised over $170 million and expects to ultimately net $200 million, the Guardian reports. A number of individuals expected to do business with the federal government have made major donations at the $1 million mark.
A spokesperson for National Gallery of Art told Hyperallergic that it would “serve as a venue for an inaugural event at the request of the inaugural committee,” but didn’t provide further details.
“While the National Gallery does not typically allow private events, exceptions have been made for official requests from across previous administrations. This includes inaugural occasions, such as an event held for President Bill Clinton in 1993,” the NGA spokesperson continued.
This is not the first time museums have rented out their spaces for presidential events. Leading up to the national presidential election, for example, democratic nominee Kamala Harris held her final rally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
