WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump returned 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 intended to signal the peaceful transfer of power .

The two men appeared briefly for photos, with Biden speaking first and calling for a smooth transition.

Trump responded that politics “is difficult” but thanked the president for a smooth transition. “You’re welcome,” Biden responded. They did not respond to questions shouted by reporters.

Trump and Biden then met privately for an “in-depth” interview that lasted more than 90 minutes and saw the president and his successor delve into a series of pressing foreign and domestic policy issues. According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Trump and Biden discussed the war in Gaza and the hostages captured by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack, as well as the war in Ukraine . Trump, on the campaign trail, promised to end the war if re-elected.

Trump and Biden also discussed government funding and emergency disaster aid, as well as how to ensure an “orderly” and “peaceful” transfer of power, Jean-Pierre said.

She told reporters that Trump came with a detailed list of questions.

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.

Trump was also greeted by first lady Jill Biden, who presented him with a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania Trump, which also expressed her team’s willingness to help with the transition, according to his office.

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 addressed House Republicans before heading to the White House, touting his decisive election victory last week.

“Isn’t it nice to win?” It’s good to win. It’s always nice to win. There are a lot of good friends in this room,” Trump said. “So you know we had historic numbers. Especially for the president, but we won’t go into those details. But the House did very well.

Trump could also meet with Senate Republicans, who were holding closed-door meetings Wednesday to elect a new leader.

The White House extended invitations to both Trumps, two White House officials said. In 2016, Melania Trump accepted the invitation and met with first lady Michelle Obama. This year, she did not accompany her husband.

Senior officials from the White House and Trump’s transition team are expected to meet, Biden and Trump officials said. Several of Trump’s top aides who will join him at the White House traveled this morning with the new president’s motorcade.

Trump announced Wednesday that more senior staff would join his White House team: Dan Scavino as deputy chief of staff; Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor; James Blair as Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Policy and Public Affairs; and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel.

Trump made several high-level appointments in his administration on Wednesday, announcing Republican Matt Gaetz, a Florida congressman, as his attorney general nominee and Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman turned Republican surrogate, as his director of national intelligence. Trump officially nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state after several days of suspense.

Trump did not meet with senators during his visit, but congratulated Sen. John Thune on his nomination as majority leader.

Then-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 “excellent conversation” and “broad in scope”. Biden, then Obama’s vice president, also met with his successor, Mike Pence. 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 the transfer of power, refusing to give Biden’s new officials access to government resources and information.

Biden has insisted that the peaceful transfer of power is essential and 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. »