Two officials at the White House budget office have resigned over disagreements on a hold on $400m of congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine, according to a transcript of testimony from a career official during the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. Mark Sandy — associate director for national security at the White House Office of Management and Budget — testified that the unnamed employees had resigned "in part" due to the decision to withhold assistance to Ukraine. Mr Sandy said at least one of the employees who resigned had a "dissenting opinion" about the decision to freeze the aid, citing legal concerns, and another "expressed some frustrations about not understanding the reason for the hold" on the aid. Mr Sandy said the Trump administration did not tell the office that aid was being withheld because of inadequate assistance from other countries, which the administration has said was a key reason for the hold, until months after it was in place. The aid wasn't released until September, when Mr Sandy said the White House had emailed him for "data" about other countries' contributions. But Mr Sandy said the administration's reasoning had remained "an open question" through July and August. On Wednesday, the House Budget Committee reported that the OMB engaged in a "pattern of abuse" by withholding aid to Ukraine. In its report, the committee assembled a timeline that details the Trump administration's plan to withhold aid days before a 25 July phone call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the heart of the impeachment probe. The same day of the call, an official within OMB signed off on formally withholding $250 million in Pentagon funds for Ukraine. Those funds were not released until 12 September. The committee said the OMB's "unlawful" behaviour — including a new political appointee's retention of a "significant" amount of Ukraine aid until the end of the fiscal year — could spur legislation to prevent the OMB from limiting or delaying congressionally approved aid in the future. Mr Sandy said he learned about a hold on Ukraine aid on 19 July, when he questioned the legality of the decision and possible violations of the Impoundment Control Act, which prevents the executive branch from substituting Congressional funding decisions for its own. He said he was responsible for approving the official hold on the aid on 25 July, the day of the call — but political appointee Mike Duffey was assigned to take over. According to Mr Sandy, Mr Duffey told him in June that Mr Trump had "questions" about the assistance, based on media reports. Mr Duffey has defied a subpoena to appear before Congress to discuss his role in the freeze. Mr Sandy's closed-door testimony on 16 November was released on Wednesday along with the last batch of 17 transcripts released by Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry into the president. The House Intelligence Committee will now assemble
Donald Trump,impeachment,Office of Management and Budget,Mark Sandy,Mike Duffey,Jerry Nadler,Volodymyr Zelensky,Ukraine,US politics,Americas,World,News,
Two officials at the White House budget office have resigned over disagreements on a hold on $400m of congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine, according to a transcript of testimony from a career official during the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. Mark Sandy — associate director for national security at the White House Office of Management and Budget — testified that the unnamed employees had resigned "in part" due to the decision to withhold assistance to Ukraine. Mr Sandy said at least one of the employees who resigned had a "dissenting opinion" about the decision to freeze the aid, citing legal concerns, and another "expressed some frustrations about not understanding the reason for the hold" on the aid. Mr Sandy said the Trump administration did not tell the office that aid was being withheld because of inadequate assistance from other countries, which the administration has said was a key reason for the hold, until months after it was in place. The aid wasn't released until September, when Mr Sandy said the White House had emailed him for "data" about other countries' contributions. But Mr Sandy said the administration's reasoning had remained "an open question" through July and August. On Wednesday, the House Budget Committee reported that the OMB engaged in a "pattern of abuse" by withholding aid to Ukraine. In its report, the committee assembled a timeline that details the Trump administration's plan to withhold aid days before a 25 July phone call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the heart of the impeachment probe. The same day of the call, an official within OMB signed off on formally withholding $250 million in Pentagon funds for Ukraine. Those funds were not released until 12 September. The committee said the OMB's "unlawful" behaviour — including a new political appointee's retention of a "significant" amount of Ukraine aid until the end of the fiscal year — could spur legislation to prevent the OMB from limiting or delaying congressionally approved aid in the future. Mr Sandy said he learned about a hold on Ukraine aid on 19 July, when he questioned the legality of the decision and possible violations of the Impoundment Control Act, which prevents the executive branch from substituting Congressional funding decisions for its own. He said he was responsible for approving the official hold on the aid on 25 July, the day of the call — but political appointee Mike Duffey was assigned to take over. According to Mr Sandy, Mr Duffey told him in June that Mr Trump had "questions" about the assistance, based on media reports. Mr Duffey has defied a subpoena to appear before Congress to discuss his role in the freeze. Mr Sandy's closed-door testimony on 16 November was released on Wednesday along with the last batch of 17 transcripts released by Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry into the president. The House Intelligence Committee will now assemble
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