Four years after Donald Trump was voted out of the White House,, as projections show he will win more than the 270 Electoral College votes required to hold office.
Democrat Kamala Harris conceded defeat in the election but " after swing states won by Joe Biden turned red with voters overwhelmingly backing Trump.
So, what happens next, and what can we expect during this transition period, with Biden still serving as president?
When will Donald Trump be sworn in?
Trump is set to be sworn in alongside his vice president JD Vance at an inauguration event on 20 January.
Inaugurations are always held on this date, as stipulated by the US constitution.
Having served as the 45th president from 2017-2021, Trump will be the first to serve non-consecutive terms in office since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election.
Trump will not be able to run for a third time in 2028 because the constitution limits the president to serving two terms.
How will the presidential transition work?
The president-elect has 75 days to prepare and he is expected to start building a team around him.
Thousands of government positions need filling.
He has promised roles in his administration to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a prominent Trump donor, as well as to
Most presidents-elect also receive daily or near-daily intelligence briefings during the transition period.
However, when Biden won the presidency in 2020, Trump delayed the process by falsely claiming he had won the election and presidential briefings didn't begin until 30 November.
The Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 was brought in to ensure the transition process begins five days after the election, even if the winner is in dispute.
When Biden announced he was stepping down from the presidential race in July, he stressed he didn't want to be a "lame-duck" president and would still be engaged during the final six months of his term.
At the time, he said he would be working hard on trying to convince Hamas and Israel to commit to a ceasefire amid the war in Gaza.
The White House plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before Biden leaves office in January, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
"The administration plans to push forward ... to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible," a senior administration official said on condition of anonymity, before its term ends in January.
Trump has been critical of Biden's assistance for Ukraine, fuelling concern about the future of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government under a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and possibly the House of Representatives.
Trump has no presidential powers before being sworn in, yet he has vowed to end the war in Ukraine before the inauguration.
