Biden and Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House says

This combination image shows President Joe Biden, left, and newly elected President Donald Trump, right. (AP Photo: Susan Walsh, left; Alex Brandon, right)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday for a traditional post-election meeting in the Oval Office, the White House said Saturday.

Such a meeting between the outgoing and incoming presidents is common and is intended in part to mark the beginning of a peaceful transition of power under American democracy.

But then-President Trump, a Republican, did not host Biden, a Democrat, for a sit-down after the 2020 election, when Trump lost his re-election bid.

Four years later, Trump again sought the presidency and on Tuesday he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate. Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election.

The White House said Biden called Trump last Wednesday to congratulate him and invite him to a meeting in the Oval Office. Their meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m

In a speech Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump “that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.” That is what the American people deserve.”

Asked about Trump as he left church on Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend, Biden said: “I’m going to see him on Wednesday.”

Associated Press writer Moriah Balingit in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, contributed to this report.