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President Joe Biden will meet today at the White House with President-elect Donald Trump. The meeting is intended to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations and comes as Mr Trump's team has yet to sign the paperwork to begin the transition process.
Mr. Biden will welcome the country's next president to the Oval Office, a traditional reception for outgoing presidents that Mr. Trump skipped in 2020, when he lost the race for re-election.
"He believes in our norms and institutions, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday, regarding President Biden's decision to invite Mr. Trump for a meeting.
"That's what's supposed to happen," she added.
President Biden and President-elect Trump have been fiercely critical of each other for years. Their teams have very different positions on policies, from issues related to climate change to Russia to trade.
Mr. Biden, 81, has portrayed Mr. Trump as a threat to democracy, while Mr. Trump, 78, has portrayed Mr. Biden as incompetent.
President-elect Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of rigging the 2020 presidential election.
Before the meeting at the White House, scheduled to take place around 11 o'clock local time in Washington, Mr. Trump will also meet with Republican lawmakers and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.
Mr. Biden intends to use the meeting to show continuity, but the transition from one administration to another is partially blocked.
According to the White House, Mr. Trump's team has not yet signed the agreement that would allow people in his incoming administration access to government facilities and information.
"Trump-Vance transition team attorneys are continuing to engage constructively with Biden-Harris administration attorneys regarding all arrangements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act," said Brian Vance, a spokesman for Mr. Trump's transition. referring to the law governing the transfer of power.
Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Presidential Transition Partnership Center, a nonprofit that advises incoming administrations, said the deal underscores that the United States has only one president until Jan. 20, and includes signing ethics rules not to profit from the information made available during the transition period.
"This agreement must be signed to begin interaction with federal agencies," she said. "It all depends on this thing."
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are likely to discuss a host of topics, including foreign policy.
The outgoing president may ask Mr Trump to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. US support for Kiev has been called into question after Mr Trump's victory.
Meanwhile, the president-elect has vowed to end the war soon, but without explaining how he will do so.
Ms. Jean-Pierre declined to give details about the issues to be discussed at the meeting between the two leaders.
This will be the first meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump since the debate between them in June, when the Democratic president had not yet withdrawn from the race.
Mr. Biden's poor showing raised concerns among Democrats over his advanced age and led to his withdrawal from the presidential race.
After this development, Mrs. Harris was chosen as the Democratic candidate for president. She led a short campaign that ended in her defeat on November 5. / VOA
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