Can You Find Them All? Local Politicos Spotted at Trump Inauguration

By Edward Smith

Published 4 months ago on

January 20, 2025

President Donald Trump's inauguration was a who's-who of elected officials, celebrities, sports stars, and foreign leaders. (CBS News)

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Even with a capacity halved by freezing weather in the nation’s capital, Valley politicos attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with Kevin McCarthy bookending a trio of Republican former House Speakers.

The 24 degrees and 31 mph wind gusts in Washington D.C. encouraged Trump to hold the event in the Capitol Rotunda, reducing capacity from 1,600 invitees to 750, NPR reported.

Celebrities, sports stars and many from the technology world attended as did foreign dignitaries from countries of varying support for U.S. policy. Vice President of the People’s Republic of China Han Zheng attended as did Argentinian President Javier Milei.

Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) stands only a few feet away from former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. (CBS News)

McCarthy, Costa Only Separated by a Few Seats

While some Democratic leaders no-showed, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) appeared a few seats behind McCarthy. Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced) also attended, according to a spokesperson from his staff.

McCarthy appeared beside former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who sat beside Newt Gingrich. All three served during Democratic presidencies, with Gingrich and Boehner foils for former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively. McCarthy served just short of nine months as speaker during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Former Republican House Speakers Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, and Kevin McCarthy sit near one another. (CBS News)

Business leaders Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon all attended the event, according to Axios.

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Edward Smith,

Multimedia Journalist

Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.