The last remnants of Trump's presidency will be cleaned up on Wednesday, when the Bidens move into the White House.
Desks will be cleared, rooms scrubbed, and the president's assistants will be replaced by new political appointees.
It is part of the massive change that the new presidential mandate brings in the very center of power.
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One evening last week, Stephen Mueller, a political adviser and central figure in the Trump White House, was loitering in the West Wing.
Miller, who has been crafting speeches and policy for the president since his early days in office, is one of the few members of the president's original team who is still with him at the very end.
Leaning against the wall and chatting with colleagues about meetings scheduled for later that day, he seemed in no rush to leave.
The west wing is usually bustling with activity, but now it seemed deserted.
The phones were silent.
The desks in the empty offices were littered with papers and unopened letters, as if people had gone somewhere in a hurry and would never return.
A dozen senior officials and aides resigned after the riots on Capitol Hill on January 6.
A handful of loyalists remained, like Miller.
As the conversation began to die down, he separated himself from his colleagues.
When I asked him where he was going next, he smiled.
"Back to your office," he said and strode down the hall.
"Very Thorny"
On Inauguration Day, Mueller's office will be cleared, cleared of all signs that he and his colleagues were ever here, ready for the Biden team to move in.
The clearing out of offices in the West Wing and the transition between presidents is part of a tradition that goes back centuries.
It is a process that has not always been filled with warmth.
Another impeached president, Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, disrespected Republican Julius S. Grant in 1869 and skipped the inauguration.
Grant, who supported Johnson's removal from office, was not surprised.
This year, however, the transition stands out for its bitterness.
The process usually begins immediately after the election, but now it was launched weeks later, after Trump refused to accept the result.
And Trump has declared that he will not attend the inauguration.
He will most likely travel to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida instead.
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However, the handover will still take place, as it has in the past.
"The system persists," says Sean Wilentz, a professor of American history at Princeton University.
"It's very thorny, it's very turbulent, but the transition will still happen."
Even in the most ideal times, the logistics of the transition are demanding, and involve the transfer of knowledge and a huge number of employees.
Stephen Mueller is just one of 4.000 political appointees hired by the Trump administration who will lose their jobs and be replaced by individuals hired by Biden.
During an average transition, between 150.000-300.000 people apply for these jobs, according to the Center for Presidential Transitions, a Washington-based nonprofit.
About 1.100 positions also require Senate confirmation.
Filling all these positions requires months, years even.
Policy documents accumulated over four years, briefing books and artifacts related to the president's work will be transferred to the National Archives, where they will be kept secret for 12 years, unless the president himself decides that parts can be released sooner.
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Moving day
One weekday evening during Trump's final week in office, the door to the office of Kayleigh McEnany, the president's press secretary, was partially open.
McEnany was one of the most prominent and senior officials who remained with Trump.
Impeccably groomed, she is a precise speaker who manages to keep a cool head in the midst of chaos.
And her office was immaculately organized, even as she prepared to leave.
A mirror sat on her desk, and several logs for the fireplace were wrapped in clear cellophane and packed to take away.
Overall, the last few days have been "controlled chaos," says Kate Anderson Brower, who wrote a book about the White House, Residence.
Furniture in the White House, such as the "Resolute Table" in the Oval Office, most of the artwork, china and other objects, belong to the government and remain in the house.
But other items, such as photos of the president that hung in the hallway, will be taken down as the White House changes for new residents.
The staff has already moved some things out of the building.
A member of the White House staff, in high heels, dragged several pictures of First Lady Melania Trump from the East Wing.
The images are known as "jumbos" because of their extra size, she says, and will be transferred to the National Archives.
Trump's personal property, such as clothing, jewelry and other items will be moved to their new residence, most likely Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
And this year the place will be cleaned more thoroughly.
The president, as well as Miller and dozens of others from the White House, were infected with the corona virus in the last few months, and the building with six floors and its 132 rooms will be thoroughly scrubbed.
Everything from handrails to elevator buttons to restroom equipment will be wiped down and disinfected, according to a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, the federal agency overseeing the cleanup operation.
First families who move in usually do some minor renovations.
After only a few days of his arrival in the White House, Trump chose a portrait of populist President Andrew Jackson for the Oval Office.
He also replaced the curtains, couches and carpet in the room with ones that contained the color gold.
On Inauguration Day, Vice President Pence and his wife will also give way to Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.
They will move into their 19th-century official residence on the Naval Observatory property, a few kilometers from the White House.
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Closing the chapter
Policy adviser Stephen Miller may have stayed longer in the West Wing, but others were already ready to leave.
At the White House, people carried thick folders, framed photos and souvenir bags.
"This is my last day," says one man, smiling as he takes pictures of his sons on the north lawn.
A packed backpack was slung over his shoulder.
A group of National Security officials posed outside the West Wing, asking me to take their picture.
"Make sure you get a picture of the Navy guard," says one of the officials, referring to the Marine who stands outside the entrance while the president is in the Oval Office.
Officials were in good spirits, joking and fooling around for photos.
Political appointees in the White House were in good spirits for a reason.
For weeks they were imprisoned between two worlds.
Their boss denied the validity of the election, but they knew their days were numbered.
They could now openly plan for the future and seemed almost elated about it.
One political appointee, a man dressed in a dark suit, was already making new plans.
He ran into a colleague in front of the Palm Room, the reception on the ground floor.
"See you on the other side," he said cheerfully.
He meant the time after the inauguration, when both of them would be out of a job in the White House.
He speculated about where they might meet again.
"Hopefully in the Greek Islands or something."
"Oh yes. That's for sure," said his colleague, laughing.
They threw each other a Friday and then parted ways.
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