In the final hours of President Joe Biden’s administration, a long-anticipated prisoner exchange was successfully executed: the Taliban consented to release two Americans detained in Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban member serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

However, the exchange faced an unforeseen delay, partly due to inclement weather affecting both Washington and Kabul. By the time Americans Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released and en route home early Tuesday, Donald Trump had officially returned to the White House. They were exchanged for Khan Mohammed, an Afghan Taliban member convicted in 2008 on narco-terrorism charges.

Mohammed had been transported from the U.S. to Doha, where Qatar played a crucial role in facilitating the exchange by hosting multiple rounds of negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban, as well as providing logistical support for the operation to extract the two American citizens from Kabul, according to several sources familiar with the situation.

The outgoing administration’s strategy for the exchange was conveyed to Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, by Biden’s adviser, Jake Sullivan.

“They are supportive of this deal,” the Biden official stated. “They have acknowledged it and raised no objections.”

A senior official from the Trump administration expressed reservations about their endorsement of the exchange.

“While we would not have pursued the deal that the Biden administration finalized, we are always pleased to see two Americans return home,” the Trump official remarked.