In another action demonstrating the Trump administration’s pettiness and unwillingness to accept the inevitable, the State Department is preventing President-elect Joe Biden from seeing messages sent by world leaders congratulating him on his election victory, CNN reports.

In a normal transition, the State Department acts as a clearinghouse for the president-elect, passing along messages that come through normal government channels to the incoming administration.  These are typically formal congratulations on the election victory and other diplomatic messages.

The Trump administration, however, has refused to accept the outcome of the election, and has therefore stalled the efforts of the transition to the Biden administration.  This includes refusing to pass these diplomatic messages on to Biden. 

The Biden transition team, however, has been communicating with foreign governments directly, largely thanks to Biden’s existing contacts with foreign leaders during his time as Vice President.  The Biden team, however, has not been able to coordinate these communications through the State Department or using State’s translators.

Foreign governments have recognized the Trump Administration’s roadblocks and reached out to Biden’s team directly, using contacts they had from the Obama Administration to connect with the transition team.

Unlike the calls Trump’s national security advisor Mike Flynn had with Russian government officials in which he discussed undermining Obama Administration foreign policy, the calls Biden is having with foreign leaders are congratulatory and ceremonial.  They’re also being done on open phone lines, and the Biden transition team is keeping a record of these calls and their content.