Trump returns to Washington and vows a ‘smooth transition’ in White House meeting with Biden
The president and president-elect had a cordial sit-down in the Oval Office.
President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, a week after his election victory, to meet with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill and President Biden at the White House.
Here’s a recap of those meetings, culled from pool reports and other sources.
The Trump-Biden sit-down
At the beginning of their meeting in the Oval Office, Biden shook Trump’s hand, congratulating him on his election victory.
“Well, Mr. President-elect, former president and Donald, congratulations,” Biden said. “Looking forward to, like we said, having a smooth transition. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated and get everything that you need. And we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. So welcome, welcome back.”
“Thank you very much,” Trump replied. “Politics is tough and in many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.”
Biden invited Trump to take part in what has become a traditional sit-down between the outgoing and incoming presidents — with the notable exception of 2020, when Trump refused to acknowledge his election loss to Biden.
Trump vowed that the transition this time would be “so smooth — as smooth as it can get.”
The press pool was ushered out after their remarks.
After the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the pair “discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world.”
“President Biden also raised important items on Congress’s to-do list for the lame duck session, including funding the government and providing the disaster supplemental funding the president requested,” she added.
Trump told the New York Post that he solicited Biden's perspectives on various issues, including the Middle East.
"I wanted — I asked for his views and he gave them to me,” Trump told the Post. “Also, we talked very much about the Middle East, likewise. I wanted to know his views on where we are and what, what he thinks. And he gave them to me. He was very gracious.”
Trump’s meeting with House Republicans
At a meeting with House Republican leadership a few hours earlier, Trump began his remarks to GOP lawmakers by saying, “Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win.”
There are several races still yet to be called, but Republicans are on track to retain a majority in the House after winning back the U.S. Senate, which would give the GOP control of Congress and the presidency until at least the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump, the second U.S. president to win reelection to serve a second, nonconsecutive term, is legally barred from running for a third term by the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
According to Politico congressional reporter Olivia Beavers, Trump jokingly told the GOP conference, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good we got to figure something else.’”
Musk attends House GOP meeting
Elon Musk traveled to Washington, D.C., on Trump’s plane and was in attendance at Trump’s meeting with the House Republican leadership.
Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors and Space X and owner of the social media platform X, threw his support behind Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign, and on Tuesday, Trump named him and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy co-leaders of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
In a statement posted to social media, Trump said the pair "will provide advice and guidance from outside the Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before."
What’s next?
The certification of Trump’s win: On Dec. 17, electors will meet in their respective state capitals (and the District of Columbia) to formally cast their votes for president.
On Jan. 6, their votes will be formally counted before a joint session of Congress overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, who will then certify Trump's victory over her.
On Jan. 20, Biden and Harris will leave office and Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president.