Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter {beacon} View Online Technology Technology   The Big Story  Tech titans flock to Trump's inauguration  Some of the country’s most prominent tech leaders were in the spotlight at President Trump's second inauguration, underscoring a months-long push to find inroads with Trump. © AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool The tech industry's emerging relationship with Trump was on full display Monday, with leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos seated together in the Capitol Rotunda for Trump's swearing-in.   The tech leaders were long slated to sit on the dais at the inaugural ceremonies — a position of honor where Trump’s family members, former presidents and other high-profile guests sit.   While the ceremony was moved inside the Capitol, the leaders still got prime seats. That peeved lawmakers on both sides of the aisle while suggesting the tech titans have made headway with Trump, who spent years hammering the companies in the traditionally deep-blue Silicon Valley.    “You have this incoming president, elevating these people, seating them on the dais and … effectively trying to make them captives of his policymaking,” said Daniel Alpert, managing partner at the investment firm Westwood Capital.     Other leaders including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook were also seated in the rotunda, while OpenAI Sam Altman and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang sat in the overflow room.    The chorus of tech leaders sitting near Trump on Monday would have been an unlikely scene during his first administration. In 2016, many of the same people voiced concerns about Trump’s ascendance in the political world.    Some observers in Washington were quick to characterize these moves as attempts to make amends with Trump before he heads back to the Oval Office.     “When we look at the tech space, a lot of these founders want to maybe be on the good side of the president of the United States,” said Republican strategist Brittany Martinez.   “I think that’s probably helpful in general, you don’t want to be an enemy of the most powerful individual of the world,' she added.     Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.   Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:   Vivek Ramaswamy set to depart DOGE Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will reportedly not serve on President Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) commission, leaving Tesla CEO Elon Musk to singularly lead the cost-efficiency group. A spokesperson for the commission confirmed the decision to The Associated Press and The New York Times on Monday, just moments before Trump took the stage at the inauguration parade at Capital …  Full Story   Elon Musk already has a White House email address On President Trump’s first day in office, Elon Musk already has a coveted White House email address.  A source tells The Hill that Musk, the billionaire who will head up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that his email was already available as part of the Executive Office of the President’s internal search function.  The source also showed The Hill a screenshot that showed Musk’s new …  Full Story   Tech leaders stand together at Trump inauguration in Capitol Rotunda Some of the country’s leading technology leaders are together at the Capitol Rotunda for President-elect Trump’s inauguration as the industry gets closer to the incoming leader’s orbit. Among those at the inauguration are Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump and will lead the …  Full Story   Lawmakers side-eye billionaire CEOs getting prime Trump inauguration seats Billionaire tech CEOs Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sundar Pichai of Google, Tim Cook of Apple, and Elon Musk got prime seats at President Trump’s inauguration in the Capitol rotunda — peeving lawmakers in both parties. The billionaire executives sat right behind Trump’s family close to the stage, with some of them accompanied by their spouses and significant others. A number of governors, meanwhile — including …  Full Story   The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:   Meta to keep fact checkers outside US 'for now' Meta plans to keep fact checkers outside the U.S. "for now," even as the social media giant replaces third-party fact checking with a community-based program within the U.S., Bloomberg reported.   X adds vertical video feed amid TikTok drama Elon Musk's X is adding a new vertical video feed for its U.S. users, as TikTok grapples with an uncertain future in the face of a ban, TechCrunch reported.   On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation will host an event on "The Worst Tech Policies of 2024: How the New Administration and Congress Can Turn the Page" at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday.   In Other News  Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Cruz expects to see TikTok sale under Trump Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Monday that he expects to see TikTok sold under President-elect Trump, as the incoming president has vowed to protect the app.  “Well, the statute allowed for a 90-day delay to facilitate a sale. What I hope and expect is that we see that sale,” he said.  “The purpose of the law was not to ban TikTok. The purpose of the law was to end the Chinese Communist government ownership and control,” … Full Story   Jeffries: Trump expected to find way for TikTok sale to US owner House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said President-elect Trump is expected to find a way for TikTok’s sale to a U.S. owner. Jeffries noted in an interview on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” Sunday that the bipartisan legislation Congress passed last year was aimed at forcing the sale of TikTok from its China-based parent company due to national security concerns. “What it required was divestiture and … Full Story   What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Trump officials shut down CBP One app Trump administration officials minutes after the new president took office on Monday shut down a mobile app for migrants to make appointments at the … Read more Trump administration sued over DOGE as soon as swearing-in over  President Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was sued multiple times before his inauguration ceremony in the Capitol … Read more   What Others are Reading  Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill: SpaceX’s moon launch marks another win for private space companies     You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!