Trump promises to turn Washington upside down. He's being welcomed back anyway

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fireplace was crackling in the Oval Office on Wednesday morning as President Joe Biden shook hands with Donald Trump and congratulated him on his election victory.

“Welcome back,” Biden told Trump, who said the transition “would be as smooth as it can get.”

It was a cordial exchange that was jarringly at odds with the strangeness of the political moment. Here was Biden, who once made it his mission to prevent his predecessor from becoming his successor, preparing to hand over power to Trump, who never conceded his defeat to Biden four years ago.

But official Washington, which still feels the aftershocks of Trump’s chaotic first term, appeared resigned to the potential earthquake of his second. There were no protests on the streets and no surprises during the past-and-future president’s nearly four-hour visit.

It was a far different scene than when Trump visited the city after his shocking victory over Hillary Clinton eight years ago. Back then, the country was still trying to figure out the real estate mogul and former reality television star, and Trump seemed somewhat nervous in his Oval Office meeting with out-going President Barack Obama.

Now, Trump is undeniably triumphant and confident in his return, solidifying his place in American politics by overcoming two impeachments, a criminal conviction and two assassination attempts to win a second term in the White House.

The victory lap began as soon as Trump touched down in his trademark red-white-and-dark-blue plane with his name emblazoned on the side.

“It’s nice to win,” Trump told House Republicans during his first meeting of the day.

He also hinted that he may not want to leave when his term was over.

“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say ‘He’s so good we got to figure something else out,’” Trump said.

The lawmakers laughed. Was it really a joke? Or a suggestion that Trump views the constitutional prohibition on serving more than two terms as malleable?

There was no way to know for sure, an uncertainty that recalled the did-he-really-mean-that tone of Trump’s original stint in Washington. Either way, it seemed unlikely that Trump would face much resistance from a Republican Party that has been remolded in his image and will likely control all branches of the federal government.

“If Donald Trump says, ‘Jump three feet high and scratch your head,’ we all jump three feet high and scratch our head,” said Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas. He wore a “Make America Great Again” tie and gold Trump sneakers.

As if to demonstrate his dominance, Trump announced a series of loyalists for top administration positions, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence director. Concerns about their lack of qualifications could make it difficult for them to win Senate confirmation — but only if Senate Republicans decide to cross Trump by opposing them.

The meeting with House Republicans took place in a hotel conference room blocks from the U.S. Capitol, which Trump had urged his supporters to march on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was ceremonially certifying Biden's election victory. Fueled by Trump's false claims of voter fraud, rioters smashed windows, fought with police officers and tried to prevent the transfer of power.

They failed, but in subsequent years, Trump convinced Americans to set aside concerns about his attempt to remain in power and trust him to address their economic malaise and concerns about migration.

He won a decisive victory over Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice president who replaced Biden at the top of the ticket after a disastrous debate performance crystallized concerns about his age over the summer.

When Trump finished on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, his motorcade whisked him to the White House for the meeting with Biden. A few dozen Trump supporters stood outside the gate before he arrived, one holding a sign saying, “Welcome back.”

Scores of journalists crowded onto the grounds in hopes of catching a glimpse of Trump — so many the Secret Service ran out of the temporary passes that are given to visiting reporters.

Harris kept her distance. A person familiar with her schedule said she was holding private meetings at her official residence.

Trump's campaign said his visit to Washington was “a harbinger of the sweeping change to come in a few short weeks.”

An X factor for Trump's second presidency is Elon Musk, the world's richest man who is frequently at the president-elect's side. He owns the social media company formerly known as Twitter, as well as an electric vehicle manufacturer and a space rocket business with billions of dollars in government contracts. Trump said this week that Musk would help lead an advisory commission on government efficiency.

Musk joined Trump for his meeting with House Republicans and added star power of his own.

“He got three standing ovations,” said Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.

It's not just the federal government that is coming around to the reality of Trump's return. City leaders are too.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Tuesday that she's committed to “providing a smooth and collaborative transition” and she wants to work with the new administration on getting federal employees back to their offices to rejuvenate downtown areas.

She also appeared to be bracing for confrontations ahead.

“We’re not in a new place,” Bowser said. “We’ve been in this place before”

Associated Press reporters Farnoush Amiri, Josh Boak, Kevin Freking, Ashraf Khalil, Zeke Miller, Darlene Superville and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

Elon Musk, left, sits with Kelly Johnson, wife of House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., as President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Members of the press gather outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, before President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President-elect Donald Trump's motorcade drives through downtown Washington, as he travels to a meeting with the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks as he arrives for a meeting with the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Thursday that the “space for negotiation and diplomacy ... is getting smaller” over Iran's advancing atomic program as wars in the Mideast rage on and as President Donald Trump will return to the White House.

Rafael Mariano Grossi of the IAEA was visiting Tehran in an effort to restore his inspectors' access to Iran's program and answer still-outstanding questions over it, as he has on previous trips with limited success since Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the Islamic Republic's nuclear deal with world powers.

However, the remarks from both Grossi and his Iranian counterpart at a news conference suggested sizeable gaps still exist, even as some countries are pushing to take action against Iran at an upcoming IAEA Board of Governors' meeting.

“We know that it is indispensable to get, at this point of time, to get some concrete, tangible and visible results that will indicate that this joint work is improving (the) situation, is bringing clarification to things and in a general sense it is moving us away from conflict and ultimately war," Grossi said.

Since the deal’s collapse in 2018, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons, something the West and the IAEA has been worried about for years since Tehran abandoned an organized weapons program in 2003.

Speaking at a news conference with Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Grossi stressed that while the IAEA and Iran continued to negotiate, time was not necessarily on their side.

“The fact that international tensions and regional tensions do exist — this shows that the space for negotiation and diplomacy is not getting bigger, it is getting smaller,” Grossi said.

Before appearing with Eslami, Grossi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who later wrote on the social platform X that “differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue.” However, he warned Tehran was “NOT ready to negotiate under pressure and intimidation.”

Some politicians have even suggested Iran abandon the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, and pursue the bomb. Araghchi referred to Iran as “a committed member of NPT," though Eslami in his remarks warned Iran could retaliate if challenged at the upcoming IAEA Board of Governors' meeting. Grossi acknowledged some nations were considering taking action against Iran.

“We have repeatedly said any resolution seeking to intervene in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear affairs will be definitely followed by immediate reciprocal steps and we will not allow them to (exert) this kind of pressure," Eslami said.

Journalists at the news conference, as well as Eslami, criticized Israel for its longtime sabotage and assassination campaign targeting Iran's nuclear program. Some noted Israeli officials had threatened Iran's nuclear sites as targets for potential retaliation as Iran and Israel trade direct attacks amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's ground and air offensive in Lebanon.

“The answer is in what we do here, what we, the IAEA, and Iran can do in terms of solving the questions at hand," Grossi said, describing “a situation of tension” with Iran's nuclear program at its center.

“I am here to work with Iran, (to) try to find adequate solutions to ease tensions, to move forward. This is my target. This is my concern. And I am confident that we are going to be able to do it," he said.

But as the two men ended the news conference to shouted questions from journalists, neither had offered any sign a breakthrough was imminent.

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, gestures at the conclusion of his joint press conference with Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami listens during his joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami gesture as they arrive for a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami listens during his joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, right, tries to listen to a journalist at the conclusion of his joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a joint press briefing with head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

CORRECTS TO INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, arrives for a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as he is accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib Abadi, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a joint press briefing with Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi sits during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a joint press briefing with Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, arrives for a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, unseen, as he is accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib Abadi, second right, and Deputy Chief of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, talks with Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami at the conclusion of their press conference in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)