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.
Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
Canada has removed 41 of its diplomats from India as tensions rise between the two nations.
Mitt Romney said he believes right-wing media is the reason for the radicalization of the GOP party.
An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States last month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child.
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has made his case for major U.S. backing of Ukraine and Israel in a time of war.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to try a third vote to become House speaker, even as his Republican colleagues are explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.
