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.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "cautiously optimistic" that the September 11th Victim's Compensation Fund's permanent extension will be passed in the Senate.
President Donald Trump Thursday evening decided to share his negative opinions on cryptocurrencies and Facebook's plans for the Libra currency, drawing a backlash among blockchain proponents.
Mississippi Rep. Robert Foster, currently running for governor of the state, is denying a female reporter from his campaign trip — unless she is accompanied by a male colleague. That Mississippi Today reporter Larrison Campbell joined Cheddar to give her reaction.
Nike announced on Thursday that it is moving forward with its plan to open a Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation facility in Goodyear, Arizona, just a week after the Governor Doug Ducey said the company was not welcome.
On Friday morning, President Donald Trump announced that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigned from his position. The decision follows widespread outrage over Acosta's handling of a 2008 case involving hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, who had been accused of being a sexual predator.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, July 12, 2019.
President Donald Trump abandoned his administration's years-long pursuit to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, but through an executive order demanded that all government agencies compile and disclose existing data on citizenship.
According to the 16-page report obtained by Cheddar, the expected price tag of the Victim's Compensation Fund is expected to be more than $10 billion over the next 10 years.
French lawmakers voted to impose a 3 percent tax on revenues from digital services that reach French users that could leave U.S. tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon facing a hefty new tax bill.
Billionaire progressive activist Tom Steyer who joined the 2020 race spoke with Cheddar about his focus on the avarice of big business and its undue influence.
