{"id":2392012,"date":"2025-01-18T06:38:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T11:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tech-titans-flock-to-trumps-inauguration-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-18T06:38:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T11:38:52","slug":"tech-titans-flock-to-trumps-inauguration-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tech-titans-flock-to-trumps-inauguration-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech titans flock to Trump\u2019s inauguration &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftech-titans-flock-to-trumps-inauguration-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2392012&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses\u2063 the presence \u200band influence of\u200d major technology leaders \u2064at President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s second inauguration, highlighting their motivations to foster relationships with the \u2062incoming governance.Notable figures including the CEOs of Meta, Amazon,\u2064 Google, and Tesla are expected to attend despite adverse weather conditions. The attendance of \u2062TikTok CEO Shou Chew is significant as it follows a\u2062 Supreme Court ruling that \u200ccould lead to restrictions on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>As\u2064 these tech leaders aim to \u2063navigate potential policy changes under Trump&#8217;s presidency,\u2063 their companies have <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">allegedly increased financial\u2063 contributions<\/a> to the \u200binauguration compared to previous years, \u200dwith some donating over $1 million.\u2062 this from companies like Microsoft\u200d and Google indicates a strategic effort to strengthen ties with the administration. In such a context, the article underscores the high \u2064stakes for tech executives, \u2062especially concerning regulations on social media, AI, and antitrust issues.<\/p>\n<p>This\u200c gathering is seen as an opportunity for discussions\u2063 on legislation crucial to the tech industry, while also allowing \u2062lawmakers like Senator Ed Markey to push for\u2063 critical future regulations, particularly related\u200b to online privacy, AI, and responsible governance in the tech sector. the\u200d article sheds light on the\u2064 intertwining interests\u200d of tech giants and government \u200bas they prepare for\u2064 the \u200bnew term.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Tech titans flock to Trump&rsquo;s inauguration in bid to influence policy in second term<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1938655\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/silicon-valley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Silicon Valley\">Silicon Valley<\/a>&rsquo;s most prominent business leaders are expected to be in chilly Washington on Monday for President-elect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s second <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inauguration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"inauguration\">inauguration<\/a> to warm relations with the incoming administration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Tech titans including the leaders of Meta, Amazon, Google, Tesla, TikTok, Apple, Alphabet, and OpenAI are set to attend the festivities, according to a source familiar, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3290757\/trump-inauguration-forced-inside-by-dangerously-cold-temperatures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">shifting plans<\/a> due to the forecast frigid temperatures.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3284826\/inauguration-day-2025-donald-trump-jd-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">INAUGURATION DAY 2025: EVERYTHING TO KNOW AHEAD OF TRUMP TAKING OFFICE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>TikTok CEO Shou Chew&rsquo;s attendance on Monday is especially noteworthy after the Supreme Court on Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3290966\/tiktok-survival-remains-limbo-despite-unanimous-supreme-court-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">upheld a law<\/a> that could lead to an imminent ban of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-indefinitely-suspends-trump-tiktok-deal\/\" title=\"Biden Admin \u2018Indefinitely\u2019 Suspends Trump TikTok Deal\">popular social media app<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not my favorite guest to the Inauguration, but listen if he wants a job, if he wants to keep his job, I would suggest he go out there and sell his company,&rdquo; said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), speaking to reporters on Friday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk, the world&rsquo;s richest person and a key adviser to Trump, had said he was &ldquo;honored&rdquo; in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1879240313942012123\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">post <\/a>on his social platform X in response to a report that he would be seated alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the ceremony. Seating arrangements for the inauguration could change after Trump announced the ceremony had been moved indoors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In many ways, I think the recognition and embrace of this new administration by Big Tech is a good thing because these companies have treated Republicans so unfairly and have essentially censored us for many years,&rdquo; said a GOP consultant granted anonymity to speak freely. &ldquo;Now, they finally understand that our values and our perspective is the way the majority of the country feels and that&rsquo;s a powerful thing.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The biggest names in the tech industry will not only be front and center during the inauguration, but they also made notable contributions to Trump&rsquo;s second inauguration, with most giving bigger checks than in previous years, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00765040\/1513848\/f132\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">filings<\/a> with the Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft is contributing $1 million, double its contributions in 2017 and 2021, while Google is tripling its offer to $1 million after giving $285,000 to Trump&rsquo;s and President Joe Biden&rsquo;s inaugurations in the past. In addition, Meta, Amazon, Uber, and OpenAI&rsquo;s Sam Altman each <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/corporate-america-pledges-donations-trump-inauguration-2024-12-17\/\">donated at least $1 million<\/a> to the inaugural fund. Zuckerberg is also co-hosting a black-tie reception along with GOP donor Miriam Adelson, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tarapalmeri\/status\/1879275566328893824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reported<\/a> by <em>Puck<\/em>. The incoming president has raised $200 million for the inauguration, according to a source familiar, breaking previous records.<\/p>\n<p>Following Trump&rsquo;s election win, the tech executives each made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to sit down with Trump in an effort to protect their corporate interests and advocate for new policies in this next term.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Everyone is trying to get in with the new administration and it&rsquo;s a high-stakes game,&rdquo; said a corporate lobbyist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect on the situation. &ldquo;In the next four years, there will likely be major regulations coming down the pike on social media safeguard, artificial intelligence, and antitrust investigations and everyone wants to be prepared &mdash; and these CEOs are doing the early legwork.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Many of these companies could benefit if the incoming Trump administration is lenient with regulation and antitrust enforcement. The fate of TikTok will now be in the hands of Trump, who had once called to ban the app but has since pledged to keep it available in the U.S., though it&rsquo;s unclear how he will do that. Apple executives are likely eager to avoid new tariffs on their products as they did during Trump&rsquo;s first term when the company won tariff carveouts on its products. The Federal Trade Commission is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/3284018\/what-is-pushing-zuckerberg-to-cozy-up-with-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">suing <\/a>Meta over allegations that it has been anticompetitive with a trial looking imminent. Amazon and Space X are also major federal contractors.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) views the attendance of top technology CEOs at the inauguration as an opportunity to begin discussions on new legislation, pointing out that he was the author of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, which helped lay the groundwork for the digital revolution.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When they&rsquo;re up there on the platform, these are the companies that are the principal beneficiaries of those three bills that I&rsquo;m very proud of,&rdquo; Markey said, speaking to the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>on Thursday. &ldquo;As I see them up there, I know that we need an AI civil rights act in the same way I know we need a teenage privacy bill of rights.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid they want to walk away from their responsibilities from their job, to make sure we deal with the sinister side of cyberspace. For me, it&rsquo;s almost a gift that they&rsquo;re going to put themselves up there because that will allow us to talk about all the other things that we should be asking,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Biden&rsquo;s farewell address <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3287334\/biden-dangerous-oligarchy-farewell-white-house-address\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">warned <\/a>of the danger of the influence of the nation&rsquo;s tech CEOs and compared them to oligarchs. The outgoing president&rsquo;s use of the word &ldquo;oligarchy&rdquo; is a direct reference to the situation in Russia, in which the nation&rsquo;s most wealthy leaders are loyal to President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,&rdquo; Biden said in a prime-time speech on Wednesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He also said he was concerned about the &ldquo;potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) also said he has &ldquo;larger concerns&rdquo; about the way corporate money is flowing into the inauguration committees<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is not simply to Donald Trump. We have a real problem with the way money is raised in politics. The way money corrupts politics, and the way that we raise money for the inauguration, which is so many corporate interests are giving a lot of money, I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s healthy and good for our democracy,&rdquo; Booker said on Thursday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" title=\"Letters on Big Tech Donations to Trump Inaugural Fund (1)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/817008193\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-QqLQTigW8MasenlRGZfs\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7729220222793488\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_52227\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>    <\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the inauguration on Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/817008193\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-QqLQTigW8MasenlRGZfs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sent a letter <\/a>to the Big Tech firms asking them to explain their motives for donating to Trump&rsquo;s inauguration fund on Friday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The duo expressed concerns in the letters addressed to Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Uber, writing that they fear the contributions were made to &ldquo;avoid scrutiny, limit regulation and buy favor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Both Warren and Bennet highlight the stakes for these big tech firms, which include &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-expect-him-to-be-indicted-says-lawyer-for-mother-of-hunter-bidens-out-of-wedlock-child\/\" title=\"\u2018I Expect Him To Be Indicted,\u2019 Says Lawyer For Mother Of Hunter Biden\u2019s Out-Of-Wedlock Child\">ongoing federal investigations<\/a> and regulatory actions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You have a clear and direct interest in obtaining favors from the incoming administration: your company and many other Big Tech donors are already the subject of ongoing federal investigations and regulatory actions,&rdquo; the lawmakers write. &ldquo;These donations raise questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money on the Trump administration, and Congress and the public deserve answers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The senators asked the companies to disclose their &ldquo;rationale&rdquo; for their contributions along with a list of other questions to be answered no later than Jan. 30.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1938655\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1938655\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tech leaders attend Trump\u2019s inauguration to shape policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2392013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Trump-inauguration-meta-scaled-1024x682.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32860,5894,48742,44805,32076],"class_list":["post-2392012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-leaders","tag-politics","tag-tech-titans","tag-trump-inauguration","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Trump-inauguration-meta-scaled-1024x682.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2392012"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2392016,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392012\/revisions\/2392016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2392013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2392012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2392012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}