Trump plans to live in Mar-a-Lago and employ current helpers

Photographer: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump plans to fly to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on the morning of Joe Biden’s inauguration, where several current White House employees are expected to work for him or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, after his chair, according to those familiar with the subject.

Trump intends to live in the resort town of Palm Beach, people have said, although some of his future neighbors are trying to prevent him from becoming a permanent resident.

In Washington, the State Department invited Biden and his wife, Jill, to stay at Blair House, a historic home near the White House, the day before the inauguration on Jan.20, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Bidens agreed, say people familiar with the matter, carrying on a tradition for elected presidents.

There has been uncertainty in the White House over where Trump will go after his presidency. Aides had assumed Mar-a-Lago, but the president had not told them his plans or said publicly what he would do after leaving the White House, people said.

Kushner plans to live in Miami at least part of the time with his wife, Ivanka Trump, the people said.

Trump’s aides who might work for him after the White House include Nick Luna, the Oval Office’s director of operations and Trump’s “body man”; Molly Michael, Trump’s assistant assistant; and Cassidy Hutchinson, an assistant to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the people said. Luna’s wife Cassidy Luna, deputy assistant to the president, could work for Kushner.

Read more: Trump impeached: As House voted in custody, awarded medals

The people have asked not to be identified because he has not made them public and may change his mind.

After some speculation among aides that he might leave earlier, Trump is now planning to leave Washington for Florida on the morning of January 20, according to two people familiar with the matter. On January 8, the president announced that he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, after his false claims that the election was stolen from him prompted a bloody riot from his supporters on the U.S. Capitol. .

It was his last tweet before Twitter permanently suspended his account, fearing he could use it to spark more violence. Vice President Mike Pence – who angered Trump by refusing to accept his attempt to call off the election and angry with the president over the riot – will attend Biden’s inauguration.

Presidents are not constitutionally required to attend inaugurations of their successors, but they traditionally do so to symbolize the importance of transferring power peacefully.

Boxes, stuffed pheasant

A lawyer representing several of Trump’s neighbors demanded that Palm Beach declare that the outgoing president cannot live in Mar-a-Lago, citing a deal he made with the city in the early 1990s when he converted the ownership of a private residence in a private club, according to the Washington Post. So far, the city is not known to have done anything that would prevent Trump from living there.

Trump’s staff have started to leave the White House. On Wednesday, a Reuters photographer photographed the president’s business adviser Peter Navarro, carrying a large framed photograph of one of Trump’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. Photographers also saw Meadows’ wife Debbie Meadows packing a stuffed pheasant in the trunk of a car with boxes.

– With the help of Jordan Fabian and Josh Wingrove

(Updates with Trump planning to leave Washington on January 20, in ninth paragraph)