Trump Returns to Washington with Musk by His Side for Talks with Biden, House Republicans

United States President-Elect Donald Trump has returned to Washington.

The president-elect touched down Wednesday, arriving near the Capitol with billionaire Elon Musk in tow, for a meeting with House Republicans and then an Oval Office session with Democratic President Joe Biden as Trump prepares for a potentially unified Republican government and sweep of power.

Back in Washington for the first time since his election victory, Trump told the GOP lawmakers, “It’s nice to win.”

Trump received a standing ovation from House Republicans, many of whom took iPhone videos of him as they ran through their party’s victories up and down the ballot, in what would be his final presidential election.

“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say he’s good, we got to figure something else,” Trump said to laughter from the lawmakers.

It’s a stunning return to the US seat of government for the former president, who departed nearly four years ago a diminished, politically defeated leader after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol but is preparing to come back to power with what he and his GOP allies see as a mandate for governance.

“He is the comeback king,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., before Trump’s arrival. “We owe him a great debt of gratitude.”

The private meetings, his down with Biden as a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power, puts in stark relief the former president’s comeback to Washington. Trump is arriving amid Republican congressional leadership elections potentially putting his imprint on the outcome.

The White House meeting between a president and president-elect is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power, a ceremony that Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago after he lost to Biden.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, was named by Trump on Tuesday to a government efficiency advisory role. Musk, who was not expected to attend the White House meeting, has been spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, and participating in discussions as the incoming Trump administration prepares to transition from Biden’s. Some close to Trump and his team now see Musk as the second most influential figure in Trump’s immediate orbit, after Susie Wiles, the campaign manager who is Trump’s incoming chief of staff.

Johnson said Republicans are “ready to deliver” on Trump’s “America First” agenda.

Wednesday’s trip was not the first time Trump has returned to the Capitol area since the end of his first term, though. Congressional Republicans hosted Trump over the summer, as Trump was again solidifying his dominance over the party.

His latest visit comes as Republicans, who wrested the Senate majority from Democrats in last week’s elections and are on the cusp of keeping GOP control of the House, are in the midst of their own leadership elections happening behind closed doors Wednesday.

The president-elect’s arrival will provide another boost to Johnson, who has pulled ever-closer to Trump as he worked to keep his majority — and his own job with the gavel.

The speaker said he expects to see Trump repeatedly throughout the week, including at an event later that evening, and at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida “all weekend.”

It’s unclear whether Trump will also visit the Senate, which is entangled in a more divisive closed-door leadership election in the three-way race to replace outgoing GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump’s allies are pushing GOP senators to vote for Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who had been a longshot candidate challenging two more senior Republicans, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, for the job.

Erizia Rubyjeana

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