Wahsington: President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Wednesday for the first time since his chaotic departure from office four years ago — and after a stream of key staff nominations that promises to reshape government.
Trump is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, a ritual of the peaceful transition of power in the US — but one that Trump didn’t offer to his successor, Biden, in 2020. The sit-down is drenched in drama between the two men, each forced to turn over the White House to the other.
Washington is already shifting toward a second Trump term, to start in January. On Tuesday, Trump announced that his richest supporter, Elon Musk, and former primary opponent Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, which he vowed on the campaign trail to dramatically overhaul the government.
He also picked an Army National Guard officer and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to be his defense secretary, an unconventional choice for a position that has traditionally gone to military leaders, lawmakers or government officials with decades of experience.
And for the transition, Trump is determined to do it his way. He is the first incoming president in decades not to seek government-funded support for his transition — a decision that could hold up security clearances, ethics reviews and other hand-off activities.
Not that Biden hasn’t offered. In a Rose Garden address last week, he said he would direct his administration to work with Trump’s team to ensure an orderly transition. “That’s what the American people deserve,” he said.
That didn’t happen when Trump lost and his supporters in the January 6, 2021, insurrection sought to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s win. His administration also dragged its feet in giving the Democrat’s team access to federal buildings and funds.
That disconnect reduces the Wednesday meeting to mostly a photo opportunity, said James Pfiffner, a George Mason University professor who studies presidential transitions.
“It’s primarily symbolic,” he said. “Despite the things they’ve both said about each other, I expect it to be a cordial meeting.”
But he said the Oval Office meeting could also present an opportunity for Biden to try to sway Trump on policy “- especially on national security issues where Trump hasn’t been privy to the same classified intelligence that Biden has gotten for four years.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to outline an agenda for the meeting, saying, “We try to keep these types of private conversations private.”
Still, she acknowledged Trump was free to discuss the contents of the meeting with the press afterward. “I would leave it certainly to Trump’s transition on whatever engagement that he’ll have with all of you,” Jean-Pierre said.
One likely subject: Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump has said he would seek a quick diplomatic end to the war, which could force Ukraine to cede some of its territory currently occupied by Russian forces. Biden, who has helped push multiple rounds of military aid through Congress and the Pentagon, has said it’s imperative for the US to continue to support Ukraine’s fight.
Trump has reportedly already spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, though the Kremlin denied the phone call. Asked about his foreign leader calls, Jean-Pierre said, “It is not unusual.”
After Trump’s post-election meeting with President Barack Obama in 2016, Trump was uncharacteristically impressed by the president-to-president briefing from his predecessor.
“I have great respect,” Trump said afterward, saying he wished the 90-minute meeting was even longer. “He explained some of the difficulties, some of the high-flying assets and some of the really great things that have been achieved.”
