Dozens of world leaders have sent congratulatory messages to Joe Biden since his election victory was confirmed last week—but the notes are reportedly being withheld by the State Department, which has been instructed by the White House not to pass them on. CNN reports the messages haven’t been received by Biden because his transition team is being blocked from accessing any State Department resources, and it will remain frozen out until President Donald Trump accepts defeat. Embarrassingly, foreign leaders have had to work around the uncooperative State Department and have reportedly had to reach out to Obama-era diplomats to ask how to get a congratulatory message to Biden. The State Department hasn’t commented on the report.
