Trump donors to pay twice the 2017 price for access

Major donors to Donald Trump's inaugural committee are having to contribute twice as much to get direct access to him and the vice-president-elect, JD Vance, at private events around the swearing-in ceremony compared with Trump's first inauguration, according to fundraising materials.

- Hugo Lowell

The ability to briefly interact with Trump and Vance requires donors to contribute at least $1m (£822,000) to the committee - the highest-tier ticket package - in a marked increase from the 2017 inauguration, when the same access cost $500,000.

That top-tier package provides donors and lobbyists seeking to curry favour with the Trump administration with two tickets to a dinner with Vance and six tickets to the "candlelight dinner," where Trump will be in attendance.

The increased donations needed to have face time with Trump reflect the dramatic increase in demand to get on his good side after a divisive election where many deep-pocketed donors stood on the sidelines waiting to see the outcome.

With Trump's imminent return to the White House, a number of people expected to do business with the federal government have made donations at the $1m level, according to people familiar with the matter.