WASHINGTON—In the final weeks of the Trump administration, the West Wing began to empty out. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was spotted carting away a framed photograph of the US and Chinese presidents facing off. The chief of staff’s wife was seen packing a stuffed bird into her car.
President Donald Trump remained preoccupied with overturning his November 2020 election loss. He spent his last days meeting with lawyers, plotting how to settle scores with Republicans who voted to impeach him after the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol and negotiating over pardons with his advisers, former aides said.