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.
Data obtained by The Associated Press shows Postal Service districts across the nation are missing the agency’s own standards for on-time delivery as millions of Americans prepare to vote by mail.
A Kentucky grand jury has brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was remembered Wednesday at the court in front of grieving family, colleagues and friends as a prophet for justice who persevered against long odds to become an American icon.
A huge study of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is getting underway as top U.S. health officials seek to assure a skeptical public they can trust any shots the government ultimately approves.
For a brief tour of Ginsburg's 27-year stint on the high court, here are five cases — three opinions and two dissents — that provide a look at her influence on business.
Rep. Ruben Gallego addressed the Trump administration's treatment of Hispanic amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley joined Cheddar to discuss Senate Democrats' special committee against the climate crisis. Merkley also addresses President Trump's denial of science and the impacts of climate crisis.
Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the EPA, joined Cheddar to defend the Trump administration's stance on environmental protections and whether science is taken into account when regulations are put in place.
The Federal Reserve Chairman and Treasury Secretary expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. economy is rebounding from the pandemic-induced recession with federal support but that more help from the government is likely needed.
The death toll in the U.S. from the coronavirus has topped 200,000, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation.
