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 Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will observe Monday's 60th anniversary of the March on Washington by meeting with organizers of the 1963 gathering and relatives of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
A special session in the Tennessee Senate ended abruptly on Thursday without any action on gun control.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul asked President Joe Biden to help the state absorb a surge of migrants.
The Pentagon said it will train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets for its war against Russia.
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Wisconsin to tout the Biden administration's broadband and affordable connectivity policies.
The Biden administration approved a $500 million weapons sale to Taiwan.
A pre-trial detention was extended for The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich until Nov. 30 by Moscow.
Eight Republican presidential candidates took to the stage on Wednesday in Milwaukee for the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election season.
The bodies of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his top lieutenants killed in a Russian jet crash on Wednesday were sent to a nearby facility for medical and forensic analysis, according to Russian media.
Political strategist Jonathan Harris breaks down the highlights from Wednesday's first Republican presidential primary debate and how Former President Donald Trump's absence affected the event.
