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’s 2020 reelection campaign was powered by a cell phone app that allowed staff to monitor the movements of his millions of supporters, and offered intimate access to their social networks.
Rep. Chris Pappas is optimistic that President Donald Trump will sign the bipartisan Veterans COMPACT Act to provide mental health care and prevent veteran suicides.
the Trump administration’s unwillingness to begin steps to transition power to President-elect Joe Biden is preventing him from creating a national response, said Kathleen Sebelius, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday said his administration would strengthen the country's vulnerable economy despite the exploding pandemic as he pushed forward with the business of preparing to assume the presidency.
President Donald Trump has hailed developments in the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus. He delivered his first public remarks Friday since his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden, even as he refuses to concede the election.
The reason for such calm is that Wall Street doesn't see Trump's anger, tweets or legal actions changing the results. And encouraging data about a potential COVID-19 vaccine has renewed investors' optimism even though virus cases are on the rise.
Just days following the presidential election, Twitter has stepped up its efforts to crackdown on misinformation, but questions are being raised about how marketers and users will interact with social media platforms going forward. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
New York's Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, joined Cheddar to discuss new state guidelines set to take effect as COVID-19 cases spike nationwide.
The report by Deutsche Bank proposed a 5% daily tax on each employee that continues to work from home.
California Rep. Ami Bera joined Cheddar to discuss what a transition to the Biden administration could look like for Americans in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. Bera also discusses how a Biden administration will tackle COVID-19 with science.
