President-Elect Donald Trump Returned Briefly to the White House on Wednesday
Trump met for nearly two hours with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office just one week after trouncing Vice President Kamala Harris to win a second term as president. The meeting between the outgoing president and his successor was an awkward post-election ritual that took place despite the personal animosity between the two men. Biden has spent months calling Trump a threat to democracy. Trump has repeatedly called Biden the worst president ever. But with the election behind them, Biden phoned Trump last week to congratulate him on his win and invited him to Washington. Biden had wanted another four years as president but things went downhill after his face-to-face meeting with Trump on a debate stage in Atlanta in June. The debate went so poorly for Biden that he was forced to abandon his reelection campaign a month later, with the help of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and a host of donors. Harris stepped in as the Democratic nominee. Trump also met with lawmakers on Wednesday as they held elections for some of Congress’ pivotal leadership roles.
The Republican Party has achieved full control of the US government, after media projected wins for the party in a handful of close races in the House of Representatives. Republicans won the majority in the Senate earlier this week, while Donald Trump won the race for the presidency. The trifecta, last achieved at the start of Trump’s first term in 2017, will give the President-elect significant authority to enact his agenda on the economy, immigration and other key issues. It also leaves Democrats with less leverage to challenge policies they disagree with, though narrow margins mean Senate Republicans could still struggle to secure enough votes for some actions.
Trump Taps Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to Slash Government
Donald Trump has been busy getting his cabinet ministers in place. One project of interest is called DOGE, meaning Department of Government Efficiency (not Doge Coin) will be headed up by Elon Musk with the assistance of Vivek Ramaswamy who was also running for President with Donald Trump. The two wealthy entrepreneurs will lead what the president-elect called the Department of Government Efficiency, which he said would seek “drastic change.” Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy are all successful business men ready to take on all challenges.