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White House violated the law by freezing Ukraine aid, GAO says
House Democrats have said the Ukraine aid pause is part of a broader “pattern of abuse” by the White House budget office.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) requested GAO’s opinion in a letter last month, noting that a number of administration officials have raised concerns about whether the president’s decision violated federal budget law. The move prompted two White House budget officials to resign in part out of frustration.
Van Hollen sent the letter one week after the House voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for using his office and federal resources to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rivals and then resisting a House investigation.
At issue in GAO’s legal opinion is how the Ukraine aid pause gels with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a law that sharply curbs the executive branch’s authority to alter congressionally appropriated funds.
Mark Sandy, a senior OMB civil servant, told House impeachment investigators last year that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s office informed OMB on July 12 that Trump planned to halt Ukraine’s aid without providing an explanation.
The administration released its hold on Sept. 11, just hours after a whistleblower complaint about the matter was circulating around the government, and after House committees began investigating Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his efforts in Ukraine to spur Trump’s desired investigations.
The funds were set to expire at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, and while the administration unpaused the money, millions of dollars never made it to Ukraine by the deadline.
House Democrats have said the Ukraine aid pause is part of a broader “pattern of abuse” by OMB, which has disregarded federal budget law and congressional spending authority.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) is now drafting a bill aimed at keeping OMB in check, and Lowey is expected to sign on as a co-sponsor. Yarmuth said he expects to release the measure in mid-March.
John Bresnahan contributed to this story.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...ao-says-099682