“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place soon, and greatly appreciated this call,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign.

Biden’s chief of staff on Wednesday pushed the Trump team to sign federal agreements required to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.

A source familiar with the Trump campaign said transition talks to take power on Jan. 20, 2025, have not actually begun. Instead, the president-elect was busy fielding calls from national and international leaders, donors and key supporters. Discussions about the transition are expected to intensify later in the week, as attention turns to the appointment of an inaugural committee and a formal transition team.

Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, reached out to Trump transition co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon to reiterate the important role agreements with the White House and the General Services Administration play in the start of a presidential transition. The White House official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive transition planning.

The delay delays the federal government’s ability to begin processing security clearances for potential Trump administration national security appointees, which could limit the number of its aides who could work on sensitive information by inauguration day. It also means they cannot yet access federal facilities, documents and personnel to prepare to take office.

The agreements are required by the presidential transition law and require the president-elect’s team to agree to an ethics plan and limit and disclose private donations. Congress, in law, set a deadline of September 1 for the GSA agreement and October 1 for the White House agreement, in an effort to ensure that new administrations are ready to govern when they enter in office on January 20.

The White House announced that Biden spoke with the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasizing the importance of working to bring the country together.

Biden also called Harris to salute her for her campaign. And Trump and Harris spoke on a call in which the president-elect “recognized Vice President Harris for her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed to l “the importance of unifying the country,” according to Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he called Trump and the two had a “warm and cordial” conversation while also discussing the “Iranian threat.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a “great call” with Trump, who threatened to cut off the steady flow of U.S. aid and weapons to his country in its fight against the nearly three-year-old Russian invasion . “I congratulated his family and his team for their excellent work,” Zelenskyy said. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and steadfast American leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also called Trump, as did Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who addressed the president-elect to express the kingdom’s “aspiration to strengthen relations historical and strategic relations between the two countries. wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under the leadership of His Excellency,” according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

Trump made his first foreign trip as president during his first term to Saudi Arabia. He then stood by the kingdom, even as ties strained following the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.

The president-elect has since pledged to bring peace to the Middle East at a time when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and recently exchanged fire with Iran. Trump, who was a strong supporter of Israel during his previous term, did not specify how he would achieve this.

Meanwhile, US markets, banks and bitcoin all rose on Wednesday, as did Tesla, owned by staunch Trump supporter Elon Musk, as investors looked favorably on the smooth running of the election and Trump’s return to office. White House.

Trump received more potential good news with the news that special counsel Jack Smith is weighing how to end the two federal prosecutions against the president-elect before he takes office, in light of long-standing Justice Department policy which states that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, according to a report. person familiar with Smith’s plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

Smith accused Trump last year of plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. This last case had already been closed. But Trump’s election victory means the Justice Department believes he can no longer be prosecuted under decades-old legal opinions intended to protect presidents from criminal charges while in office.

Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Tom Beamont and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.