WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump will return to Washington on Wednesday — entering the White House for the first time since he was removed from office — to meet with President Joe Biden for a ceremony to mark the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump did not offer Biden the same meeting in 2020 because he refused to recognize the election results and worked to delay Biden taking office. Vice President Kamala Harris conceded defeat last Wednesday before a crowd of supporters in Washington after Trump won a decisive victory.

One unanswered question is whether Vice President-elect JD Vance will be part of Wednesday’s trip to Washington. As of Tuesday evening, a source familiar with the discussions said, Vance had yet to hear from Harris about any sort of outreach regarding a potential visit or otherwise since last week’s election.

Trump has been in Florida since Election Day, surrounded by allies and advisers as he begins putting together a list of Cabinet members and other prize appointments filled with loyalists. Trump returns to Washington to rejoice in his party’s electoral success, having won control of the Senate and perhaps also the House.

Trump is expected to address House Republicans before heading to the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday. Trump may also meet with Senate Republicans, who will hold closed-door meetings Wednesday to elect a new leader.

The White House extended invitations to Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, two White House officials said. In 2016, Melania Trump accepted the invitation and met with first lady Michelle Obama. This year, she is not expected to accompany her husband, said a source close to the matter.

It is unclear whether first lady Jill Biden will participate in the greetings with Trump. She is expected to be at the White House on Wednesday. Senior officials from the White House and Trump’s transition team are expected to meet, Biden and Trump officials said.

Former President Barack Obama invited Trump to meet at the White House two days after the 2016 election. The discussion in the Oval Office lasted about 90 minutes, and Obama called it a “great conversation” and “broad scope”. Biden also met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence around this time. Six days later, the Bidens hosted the Pences at the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s official residence.

After the 2020 election, Trump did not invite Biden to visit him because he refused to recognize the election results. Instead, he has largely refused to allow his administration to participate in a transfer of power, refusing to give Biden’s new officials access to government resources and information.

Biden has sought to stick to his insistence that the peaceful transfer of power is essential, and he has promised since Election Day that his administration would hand over the reins.

“Campaigns are a contest of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made,” Biden said last week. “You can’t only love your country when you win. We cannot love our neighbor only when we agree. »