Trump makes triumphant return to Washington, meets with Biden

Donald Trump made a victor's return to Washington on Wednesday, visiting the White House for an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden and committing to a smooth transition of power as the president-elect moves quickly to build out his new administration.

Sitting in front of a crackling fire, the rivals shook hands as reporters looked on.

Biden called Trump "Mr. president-elect and former president" before settling on "Donald."

"Congratulations," the Democrat told the Republican. "I look forward to having, like they said, a smooth transition," Biden said.

Trump replied, "Thank you very much," saying that "politics is tough. And it's, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much."

Neither man answered questions shouted by the media. Each was joined by his chief of staff for the private meeting that is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power, but a ritual that Trump declined to participate in four years ago after losing to Biden.

Trump's win in last week's election completes a political comeback that has seen him once again become the unchallenged head of the Republican Party.

Republicans wrested the Senate majority from Democrats and are on the cusp of keeping control of the House, with just two more seats needed to win, according to projections from The Associated Press.

WATCH | White Housesays Biden, Trump had 'gracious' meeting for nearly 2 hours:

Biden and Trump discussed national security, domestic policy, White House rep says

2 days ago

Duration 3:06

The meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump at the White House was 'cordial' and 'substantive, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday, without offering any specifics on what exactly the two men discussed.

Transition papers not signed

Back in Washington for the first time since his election victory, Trump received a standing ovation from House Republican members, many of whom took cellphone videos as the 78-year-old president-elect ran through their party's victories up and down the ballot.

It's a stunning return to the seat of America's government for Trump, who departed Washington in January 2021 a diminished, politically defeated leader after the attack on the Capitol perpetrated by many of his supporters. He was impeached by the House an unprecedented second time as a result, though he was acquitted at a Senate trial.

"He is the comeback king," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republicanrepresenting Louisiana, before Trump's arrival. "We owe him a great debt of gratitude."

While Trump was heralded, Republican senators met for a closed-door leadership election in the three-way race to replace longtime leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota prevailed over Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.

Thune, who is 63 and in his fourth Senate term, has promised to work closely with Trump despite differences the two have had over the years. Thune will be a crucial part of the incoming president's efforts to push through his policy agenda.

LISTEN l Journalist Hasan Piker on Trump's online outreach:

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After his election win in 2016, Trump met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and called it "a great honour." But he soon was back to heaping insults on Obama, including accusing his predecessor without evidence of having wire-tapped him during the 2016 campaign.

Four years later, Trump disputed his election loss to Biden, and he has continued to make false claimsabout widespread voter fraud. He didn't invite Biden, then the president-elect, to the White House and he left Washington without attending Biden's inauguration. It was the first time that had happened since Andrew Johnson skipped Ulysses S. Grant's swearing-in 155 years ago.

The Biden administration did not receive as substantial a transition process as other incoming teams in the past, even as the U.S. was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were available.

WATCH | What comes next as Trump gears up to take office again?

Trump and Biden had a symbolic meeting at the White House: What comes next?

2 days ago

Duration 5:49

Yasmeen Abutaleb, a White House reporter with the Washington Post, looks at U.S. President Joe Biden's brief meeting with incoming president Donald Trump, and explores what might come next as Trump gears up to take office again.

This transition now appears 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.

Biden insists that he'll do everything he can to make the transition to the next Trump administration go smoothly.