Outgoing US President Donald Trump will leave Washington at dawn Wednesday, hours before the inauguration of his Democratic successor, Joe Biden.

It is clear that Trump does not want to leave the US federal capital as a former president, so he will head before the end of his term to Florida, where he intends to settle.

After leaving the presidential headquarters in a helicopter that will take off from the White House gardens, the former businessman will fly from Andrews Military Base (Maryland) to Maralago on his last flight on Air Force One.

In the city of Washington, which has become more like a fortified camp after the violence in the Capitol last week, preparations are continuing for Biden's swearing-in ceremony. 

The Biden team continues to follow the details carefully every day. Lady Gaga, whom Biden describes as a "great friend," will perform the US national anthem. But the ceremony will be different this year, as the "National Mall" site, the huge square in front of the Congress building, will be closed to the public.

Only officially approved people will be allowed into the region where hundreds of thousands of supporters of the elected president traditionally congregate.

Since the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on the sixth of January, Washington has been placed under strict surveillance, and the police have surrounded it, backed by thousands of soldiers.

Biden's team and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called on the American people to avoid heading to central Washington and watching the inauguration online or on television.

- The White House is devoid of officials -

In stark contrast to Trump, who is deprived of his Twitter account and lives alone in the White House, Vice President Mike Pence every day appears to be the one taking the lead.

A source familiar with the matter told AFP on Friday that Pence phoned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and congratulated her. It was their first contact since the debate they were facing in the fall, at the height of the election campaign.

Pence also intends to participate in the inauguration ceremony, along with former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

After the ceremony, Biden will head to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath of roses at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and call for unity.

Trump is the first president in 150 years to boycott the inauguration of his successor.

After refusing for more than two months to concede defeat in the Nov. 3 election, he ended up making a promise to secure a smooth transition of power, but he did not congratulate Biden.

After a week of violence in the Congress building, Trump is still facing criticism from members of his government. The halls of the White House have emptied very quickly as a number of advisers in fact left the building with their documents and belongings.

Pictures of Trump during his travels in the United States or around the world were removed from the walls of the famous West Wing. On the large blank walls, only a handful of paintings remain, awaiting Biden's pictures.