Behind the scenes, the Inauguration Day transition is a military operation

The desks are cleared, the walls repainted, and the new president gets a fresh West Wing. Behind the scenes, the Inauguration Day transition is a military operation.

The week before the inauguration of a new president transforms the West Wing into a scene of controlled chaos, not unlike the organized withdrawal of troops from a battlefield. Carry-ons and boxes dominate the cramped offices, spilling into the narrow hallways, as staffers scramble to pack up the remnants of an administration. Every corner tells a story of transition — of endings and beginnings — as personal items are carefully stowed, documents are finalized, and desks are cleared to make way for the incoming team.

I reflect back on the final day of the first Trump term, which was an unusual blend of tension and calm, marked by a singular question that loomed over the day: Who would receive a presidential pardon in Trump’s final hours in office? When the much-anticipated list was finally released that evening, it signaled more than the culmination of a contentious term — it was a quiet but unmistakable acknowledgment that the Trump era was drawing to a close. Or was it?

At the White House, there’s a term reporters know well: “lid.” It’s the press office’s way of signaling the day’s news cycle is done. A “lunch lid” means time for a sandwich; a “full lid” means the day’s work is over. But that final “travel photo lid” at 8:34 p.m. felt different. “Have a great night, everyone,” the message read — a simple, routine sign-off that carried a certain extra weight. For those of us in the trenches, it was more than the end of a shift; it was the exclamation point on four years of frenetic history.

For all the combativeness between the press and administration, the shared experiences of those years had forged an odd camaraderie. Covering the Trump White House meant bracing for unpredictability at all hours, and even amid chaos, the bonds between reporters and staff became an unexpected byproduct of the work. That night felt like a bittersweet graduation — final goodbyes between colleagues and adversaries alike, each preparing to move on to new chapters, unsure if paths would ever cross again.