Lawmakers are being overloaded with requests for tickets to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump, USA Today reported.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies hands out 240,000 tickets for the Jan. 20 inauguration. Members of Congress are allotted the tickets, and give them mostly to their constituents. Some hold lotteries, others go with first-come, first-served.
Some have not yet decided how to give out their allotment, USA Today's report said.
Lawmakers need to plan ahead for inaugurations, according to Brad Fitch, the president of the Congressional Management Foundation, a nonpartisan group that helps run congressional offices.
"What people fail to realize is that Congress is made up of 535 small businesses. They all do things differently," he said.
"Interest spiked almost immediately after Trump's election," Louisiana Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham's spokesman Cole Avery said.
Abraham got more than 300 requests, but he is only allowed to give out 185.
"There's been a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for attending Donald Trump's inauguration," Avery said.
Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran's office got nearly 1,000 requests, but he is only allotted 365.
"The groundswell of support for Mr. Trump in Mississippi gave us some indication of the level of interest of Mississippians who might want to attend this inaugural ceremony in person," Cochran spokesman Chris Gallegos said.
Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly had more requests than his 393 tickets, and Indiana Republican Reps. Susan Brooks and Luke Messer have waiting lists for theirs.
Democratic lawmakers are not seeing the same level of excitement.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders got 32 requests from his constituents. His spokesman, Michael Sanders, said that after the election, many requests were withdrawn.
Fitch said choosing who gets tickets is a challenge:
"Members of Congress don't like to say no to anyone… they're always trying to say yes to somebody and they're getting direct calls from old friends and neighbors and even campaign contributors."
Republicans are enthusiastic about the event, University of Louisiana, Monroe political scientist Joshua Stockley said in the report.
"Any Republican should be particularly excited that after a long eight years—from their perspective—they get to observe a Republican being sworn in to office. I think a Republican anywhere, regardless of state, would be excited to attend," he said.
ABC News reported that the event's chairman, Tom Barrack, said, "The idea is to have a cross cut of harmony of America and normal Americans that reflects on them, not on the power and prestige of this man."
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