‘Welcome back’: Joe Biden and Donald Trump meet at the White House

President-elect Donald Trump traveled to the White House Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden, who pledged to do “everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.”

“Welcome back,” Biden said during the Oval Office meeting.

“Politics is tough. In many cases, it’s not a very nice world,” Trump responded. “But it is nice today and I appreciate it very much.”

Trump promised a transition “as smooth as it can get” before reporters were ushered out of the room. Neither Biden nor Trump answered questions.

Away from the cameras, Biden and Trump met for close to two hours and were expected to go through many top issues — both domestic and foreign policy. Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, was on hand for the meeting, as was current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients.

“The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS, “and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office.”

It’s a traditional meeting Trump declined to participate in after the 2020 election, as he falsely claimed he defeated Biden and would remain in the White House. Former President Barack Obama held a similar meeting with Trump in 2016.

While in Washington, D.C., Trump also met with Republicans from Congress, who will also control the Senate and most likely the House, though Democrats continue to have an unlikely chance of taking the majority.

Over on Capitol Hill, Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) was elected by Republicans Wednesday to become the next Senate majority leader.

Thune defeated Sen. John Cornyn of Texas by five votes in a secret ballot, 29-24. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was also in the mix, but was easily defeated in an earlier vote.

Thune is now the Senate minority whip, and it will be the first time in nearly two decades Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t be the Republican leader in the Senate. Thune isn’t up for reelection until the end of Trump’s term in 2028.

“Thune is not McConnell, and he has a different type of leadership style than that,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) told Semafor’s Burgess Everett. “I’ve seen the way he led when McConnell went down, when he wasn’t able to be there. And I really enjoyed his leadership style.”

Republicans would have a 53-47 majority in a Senate that includes Dave McCormick. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) has not yet conceded in a race the Associated Press called last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.