WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington on Wednesday for the first time since winning last week's election to meet fellow Republicans in Congress and President Joe Biden at the White House.
Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews aboard his self-styled "Trump Force One" plane.
Biden, who initially ran against Trump in the 2024 election before stepping aside and endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, will welcome the former and future president into the Oval Office, a traditional courtesy by outgoing presidents that Trump, a Republican, did not extend when Biden won in 2020.
"He believes in the norms, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said of Biden's decision to invite Trump. She spoke at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday.
Biden and Trump have sharply criticised each other for years, and their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade. Biden, 81, has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump, 78, has portrayed Biden as incompetent.
The two presidents were expected to meet at 11 am ET (16:00 GMT). Trump made false claims of widespread fraud after losing the 2020 election to Biden.
Outside the White House gates, signs of the impending power transfer were evident with construction already under way for the stands for VIP guests to sit during the parade that will take place after Trump is inaugurated on January 20. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk was expected to join Trump at a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans in the US House of Representatives, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Although Biden intends to use the meeting to show continuity, the transition itself is partially stalled. Trump’s team, which has already announced some members of the incoming president's cabinet, has yet to sign agreements that would lead to office space and government equipment as well as access to government officials, facilities and information, according to the White House.
Trump announced on Tuesday that the world's richest man, Elon Musk, will lead a new US government efficiency group tasked with cutting federal waste, as the Republican president-elect added a series of seasoned figures and hardliners to his incoming administration.
Musk became a key ally to Trump during his campaign, reportedly spending over $100 million to help the Republican win and repeatedly boosting Trump's candidacy on X, the platform he owns.
Trump said Musk and another stalwart ally, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, would lead a 'Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)' a tongue-in-cheek reference to an internet meme and cryptocurrency.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said in a statement. — Reuters
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