Donald Trump and Joe Biden promise smooth transition of power in White House meeting

US president-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, long-time political rivals, met on Wednesday for the first time since Mr Trump won back the White House last week. Both men promised a smooth transfer of power in January.
The two leaders sat side by side before a roaring fire in the Oval Office, a peaceful scene that belied tensions between them.
Mr Biden defeated Mr Trump in the 2020 election but dropped out of the 2024 race in July after a disastrous debate with the Republican Trump. He handed his candidacy to vice president Kamala Harris, who lost.
“We’re looking forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition, do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need,” Mr Biden said. “Welcome, welcome back.”
“Politics is tough, and it’s many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth it’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe,” said Mr Trump, who takes over on January 20th.
Mr Trump celebrated his victory earlier in the day with Republicans in the House of Representatives who have a good chance of maintaining control of the chamber as the November 5th election results trickle in.
“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Mr Trump said. “The House did very well.”
There was some disappointment for Mr Trump when US Senate Republicans elected John Thune to lead the chamber next year, opting for a well-regarded insider and shrugging off a public pressure campaign by supporters of the president-elect to pick a loyalist.
The South Dakota senator’s victory in a three-way contest is a sign the Senate could retain some degree of independence from Mr Trump next year, when Republicans will control the White House and possibly both chambers of Congress. Republicans will hold at least 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate and on Wednesday were projected by Edison Research to be on track to retain their majority in the House of Representatives, where nine races have yet to be called.
Mr Thune (63), is seen as an even-tempered institutionalist and seasoned legislator who has close relationships with many of his fellow Republicans. He currently serves as the chamber’s No 2 Republican and will succeed 82-year-old Mitch McConnell.
Mr Thune prevailed over senator John Cornyn of Texas, another long-serving institutionalist, and Rick Scott of Florida, a close ally of Mr Trump who was backed by influential outsiders such as billionaire Elon Musk and conservative commentator Sean Hannity. That made the normally clubby election an early test of Senate independence under Mr Trump, who has not endorsed a candidate but called on the next Republican leader to give him leeway to bypass the normal system of hearings and votes to approve Cabinet nominees. All three contenders quickly signalled their openness to the idea.
On Tuesday Mr Trump named Mr Musk to a role aimed at creating a more efficient government, handing even more influence to the world’s richest man who donated millions of dollars to helping Mr Trump get elected.
Mr Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead a newly created department of government efficiency, an entity Mr Trump indicated will operate outside the confines of government.
Mr Trump said in a statement that Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Mr Trump said the new department will realise long-held Republican dreams and “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” signalling the roles would be informal, without requiring Senate approval and allowing Mr Musk to remain the head of electric car company Tesla, social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX.
Mr Trump also picked Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defence. Mr Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders, opposed women in combat roles, and even questioned whether the top American general was in his position because of his skin colour.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Mr Hegseth could make good on Mr Trump’s campaign promises to rid the US military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
Mr Hegseth, who has little management experience, will be in charge of 1.3 million active-duty service members and the nearly one million civilians who work for the military.
Mr Trump also said he was nominating former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel, tapping a staunchly pro-Israel conservative whose choice could signal future US policy toward conflicts in the Middle East.
An evangelical Christian, Mr Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a long-time defender of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. – Reuters.