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US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump pledged to ensure a smooth transition of power on Wednesday, their first meeting since Trump won reelection.
At the Oval Office encounter, Biden apparently stressed the need for a “smooth transition,” telling Trump that the White House would do “everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.”
Trump replied that “it’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe.”
The two met privately for nearly two hours, and Trump came with a “detailed set of questions,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “It was actually a substantive meeting,” she added.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden raised the issue of US hostages held in Gaza, and signaled willingness to work with Trump’s team to seek their release. Biden also told the president-elect that continued support for Ukraine remains in the US national interest, Sullivan added.
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The transition process is already behind schedule: the Trump team has yet to sign the routine paperwork to kickstart the transition (the documents carry requirements about ethics and disclosing transition donations).
“It is hard to do this thoroughly and the biggest challenge is lack of time, and so loss of time is consequential,” Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, told Semafor.
Trump’s team stonewalled the Biden transition team as the outgoing president contested his 2020 election loss that year.