Ex-First Lady Melania Trump turned down an invitation from current First Lady Jill Biden for the conventional White House tea, sources say. Trump’s refusal is said to be based on the FBI’s 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago.

This refusal diverges from the long-standing custom where the incoming and outgoing first ladies share a meeting at the White House during the presidential transition period.

Despite an arranged meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Wednesday, November 13 following the election, Melania Trump did not take part in the customary first lady exchange.

A source close to Melania Trump conveyed strong opinions about this refusal, pointing to the FBI’s examination of her personal possessions during the Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022. The source suggests that Melania Trump’s decision is a direct response to the Biden administration’s sanction of the FBI search.

In a previous interview with “Fox & Friends” in September, Melania Trump had expressed her disapproval of the Mar-a-Lago search, terming it as an “invasion of privacy.” She shared her reaction upon discovering her Palm Beach, Florida residence had been searched. “I saw unpleasant stuff that nobody wants to see,” she said, highlighting that FBI agents had inspected her wardrobe and son Barron’s rooms.

The relationship between the present and former first families has been characterized by departures from tradition. After the 2020 election, the Trumps did not invite the Bidens to the White House, a break from the longstanding presidential transition custom. This was a stark contrast to Melania Trump’s own experience in 2016, when she was given a White House tour by then-First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Mar-a-Lago search that instigated the current strain was part of a federal probe into the management of classified White House documents. The case was later dismissed by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in July.