WASHINGTON—The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Elaine McCusker, a senior Pentagon official in line to become a deputy defense secretary and comptroller, after she clashed with the White House over the 2019 suspension of military aid to Ukraine, administration and congressional officials said Monday.. Ms. McCusker was nominated in November to be the Pentagon’s comptroller, and the Senate was poised to start work on her confirmation. But the White House pulled her nomination on Monday after concerns arose over her opposition to the administration’s suspension last year of aid to Ukraine.. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The withdrawal of Ms. McCusker’s nomination was reported Monday by Politico.. As acting comptroller for the past year, Ms. McCusker became a central figure in the battle between the Pentagon and the White House Office of Management and Budget over the suspension of nearly $400 million in military assistance.. Ms. McCusker warned in emails later made public in redacted form that the OMB’s hold on the Ukraine funds risked violating the Impoundment Control Act, which mandates that the executive branch spend money appropriated by Congress.. Ms. McCusker also warned that holding up the aid could complicate the administration’s ability to comply with a congressionally mandated deadline to disburse the funds. She said at one point that $120 million or more of the aid was at risk of not being spent, according to the emails.. OMB officials, however, grew skeptical of Ms. McCusker’s estimates of the amount of aid that was at risk of not being delivered, and tensions between the Pentagon and OMB mounted as a result.. The White House hold on the Ukraine money was lifted Sept. 11, and much of the money was sent to Ukraine. . However, the suspension prevented $35 million in aid from being spent before the legal deadline. And the funds were delivered only after Congress in September enacted special provisions to do so as part of a continuing appropriations measure.. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found in January that the freeze on the military aid violated spending law.. The Ukraine aid suspension became central to the impeachment and subsequent Senate trial of Mr. Trump. . House Democrats said the president used the military aid as leverage to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, and his role as board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural-gas company.. Ms. McCusker’s emails began surfacing after the House impeachment vote in December and were among new details cited by Democrats in calling for new testimony and evidence, as the Senate held its impeachment trial.. Senate Republicans rebuffed attempts to admit new evidence and testimony, and Mr. Trump was acquitted of both articles of impeachment on Feb. 5.. After the acquittal, several administration officials associated with the impeachme
White Hous,White House Drops Nominee,White House Drops Nominee Who Questioned Ukraine,
WASHINGTON—The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Elaine McCusker, a senior Pentagon official in line to become a deputy defense secretary and comptroller, after she clashed with the White House over the 2019 suspension of military aid to Ukraine, administration and congressional officials said Monday.. Ms. McCusker was nominated in November to be the Pentagon’s comptroller, and the Senate was poised to start work on her confirmation. But the White House pulled her nomination on Monday after concerns arose over her opposition to the administration’s suspension last year of aid to Ukraine.. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The withdrawal of Ms. McCusker’s nomination was reported Monday by Politico.. As acting comptroller for the past year, Ms. McCusker became a central figure in the battle between the Pentagon and the White House Office of Management and Budget over the suspension of nearly $400 million in military assistance.. Ms. McCusker warned in emails later made public in redacted form that the OMB’s hold on the Ukraine funds risked violating the Impoundment Control Act, which mandates that the executive branch spend money appropriated by Congress.. Ms. McCusker also warned that holding up the aid could complicate the administration’s ability to comply with a congressionally mandated deadline to disburse the funds. She said at one point that $120 million or more of the aid was at risk of not being spent, according to the emails.. OMB officials, however, grew skeptical of Ms. McCusker’s estimates of the amount of aid that was at risk of not being delivered, and tensions between the Pentagon and OMB mounted as a result.. The White House hold on the Ukraine money was lifted Sept. 11, and much of the money was sent to Ukraine. . However, the suspension prevented $35 million in aid from being spent before the legal deadline. And the funds were delivered only after Congress in September enacted special provisions to do so as part of a continuing appropriations measure.. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found in January that the freeze on the military aid violated spending law.. The Ukraine aid suspension became central to the impeachment and subsequent Senate trial of Mr. Trump. . House Democrats said the president used the military aid as leverage to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, and his role as board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural-gas company.. Ms. McCusker’s emails began surfacing after the House impeachment vote in December and were among new details cited by Democrats in calling for new testimony and evidence, as the Senate held its impeachment trial.. Senate Republicans rebuffed attempts to admit new evidence and testimony, and Mr. Trump was acquitted of both articles of impeachment on Feb. 5.. After the acquittal, several administration officials associated with the impeachme
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