WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump will return to Washington on Wednesday – entering the White House for the first time since his impeachment – to meet with President Joe Biden for a ceremony intended to signal a peaceful transition of power.
Trump did not offer Biden the same meeting in 2020 because he refused to accept the results of the election and tried to delay Biden from taking office. Vice President Kamala Harris conceded defeat to supporters in Washington after Trump’s landslide victory last Wednesday.
An unanswered question is whether Vice President-elect JD Vance will be part of Wednesday’s visit to Washington. A source familiar with the discussions said late Tuesday that Vance had not yet heard from Harris about a potential visit or any outreach since last week’s election.
Trump has been in Florida since Election Day, surrounded by allies and advisers, as he begins rolling out his Cabinet list and other prized appointments stacked with loyalists. Trump returns to Washington to bask in the glow of his party’s landslide election victory, securing control of the Senate and possibly the House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected to address House Republicans on Tuesday before Trump heads to the White House. Trump may also meet with Senate Republicans, who will hold closed-door meetings on Wednesday to choose a new leader.
Two White House officials said the White House extended invitations to both Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. In 2016, Melania Trump accepted the invitation and met with First Lady Michelle Obama. She is not expected to accompany her husband this year, a source familiar with the planning said.
It is not known whether First Lady Jill Biden will attend the greeting with Trump. He is scheduled to be at the White House on Wednesday. Trump’s transition team is expected to meet with senior White House staff, Biden and Trump officials said.
Former President Barack Obama invited Trump to a meeting at the White House two days after the 2016 election. The Oval Office sit-down lasted about 90 minutes, and Obama called it a “great conversation” that was “wide-ranging.” Biden also met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence at that time. Six days later, the Bidens hosted Pence at the Vice President’s official residence, the Naval Observatory.
After the 2020 election, Trump did not invite Biden to visit because he refused to accept the results of the election. Instead, he refused to allow his administration to participate in the transition of power, giving incoming Biden officials access to government resources and information.
Biden has tried to stick to his insistence that a peaceful transition of power is critical, and he has vowed since Election Day to hand over the reins of his administration.
“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice made by the country,” said Biden last week. “You can’t love the country only when it wins. You can’t love your neighbor only if you agree.”
Alec Hernandez contributed.