WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government's watchdog agency said Thursday a White House office violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine.
The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding up the aid. The freeze is at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The independent agency, which reports to Congress, said OMB violated the Impoundment Control Act in delaying the security assistance Congress authorized for Ukraine for “policy reasons,” rather than technical budgetary needs.
“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” wrote the agency's general counsel, Thomas Armstrong, in the report.
OMB has argued the hold was appropriate and necessary.
“We disagree with GAO's opinion. OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," said OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel.
Trump was impeached last month on charges of abusing his power for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rivals, as he was withholding the aid, and for obstructing Congress' ensuing probe. The Senate is set to begin its trial on Thursday.
President Donald Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, taking direct aim in the final days of his administration at a Russia investigation that he has long insisted was motivated by political bias.
Gripped by the accelerating viral outbreak, the U.S. economy is under pressure from persistent layoffs, diminished income, and nervous consumers, whose spending is needed to drive a recovery from the pandemic.
U.S. consumers increased their spending by a sluggish 0.5% in October, the weakest gain since April when the pandemic first erupted and a sign that Americans remain wary with the virus resurging across the country and threatening the economy.
Bob Pinnegar, president of the National Apartment Association, discusses the impending housing crisis should a stimulus bill fail to materialize quickly.
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, November 25, 2020:
Scottish lawmakers have unanimously passed legislation that will make period products freely available to anyone who needs them.
The General Services Administration has ascertained that President-elect Joe Biden is the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election.
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, a pivotal role in which she would help shape and direct his economic policies.
Jennifer Horn, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project and former New Hampshire GOP chair, had sharp words for Republicans for sticking with President Trump.
AstraZeneca reported that its vaccine is 90% effective and cheaper to distribute than vaccines from its competitors. Meanwhile, the U.S. is averaging 1,500 deaths per day according to Johns Hopkins.
