Just on January 20, 2025, when the president-elect of the United States is sworn into office, a mission against the clock takes place at the same time in the White House: the presidential move. With particular logistics, one president leaves and another enters the executive residence in just a few hours.
Inside the most famous house in the American capital, its current tenants and staff prepare to welcome a new resident: President-elect Donald Trump and his family, who will return to the White House in January.
The White House Historical Association defines this process as an “extraordinary effort” in which the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden has only two months to plan the transition and one day to move both families to and from the presidential mansion.
This was the presidential move in 2021
When does the move occur?
Trump and his family will move into the White House on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, after he is sworn in to serve another four years as president of the United States.
The move is a highly planned operation and is led by the White House usher. This position is currently held by Robert B. Downing, who was appointed by the Bidens at the beginning of their term. The manager manages the 5,100-square-meter, six-story residence. Downing supervises about 100 people who work permanently in the White House.
Among the tasks that this team has is choosing furniture for the new tenants, organizing the rooms, maintaining the temperature of the house according to the preferences of those who arrive and having their favorite dishes and even the type of soap ready. that the presidential family will use.
Sometimes, to facilitate the process, the sitting First Lady invites the president-elect's wife to tour the private rooms and review the plans, as well as the permanent art collection. However, in 2020, the Trumps did not invite the Bidens to the White House after the election.
Although the White House this time is not new for the Trumps, a week after the victory of the Republican in Novemberhis predecessor invited him to the residence.
Few hours for management
On Inauguration Day, dozens of White House employees begin work around 4 a.m. to make repairs or changes to the residence. Then, at 8:30 in the morning, the staff gathers to say goodbye to the presidential family as they finish their term.
Around 10 in the morning, the moving trucks are already near the White House waiting for the signal to move inside it. Once the outgoing president and his family leave the residence, the process begins, which takes about five hours.
First, empty trucks arrive to take out the outgoing family's belongings, which are usually packed days before the move. Two elevators are responsible for removing a president's furniture while the new president's belongings are moved. Some of the larger objects are carried up and down stairs.
Then, other trucks carrying the incoming family's belongings arrive at the White House. Due to security reasons, external moving helpers are usually very few, as the permanent employees of the executive residence handle most of the task.
Once the swearing-in ceremony is over, the new family heads to the White House in the afternoon and by then, the entire moving process would be over. It is then that the staff welcomes the presidential family, who from there prepares for other protocol events of the day.
In 2021, the move had particular challenges due to factors ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to security threats arising from the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Then-President Trump decided not to attend Biden's inauguration, so they did not leave the White House together for the Capitol.
This time the context is different. Days after Trump's victory in the elections, President Biden assured that the transition would be “peaceful and orderly.”
To that end, Biden invited Trump to the White House on November 13 and they met for about two hours. Before their meeting, the president-elect thanked the current president for receiving him at the executive mansion during the transition process.
The new vice president, JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance, will move into the residence currently occupied by Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. The house is located at the Naval Observatory, near the White House.