‘WE’RE ALL GOOD ON THAT FRONT’

Trump Budget Chief: ‘I Don’t Anticipate’ Another Ukraine Aid Freeze

“I am not going to take any tools that the president has off the table, but I don’t anticipate anything on that front,” Russ Vought told reporters.

President Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, said Wednesday that he does not “anticipate” any additional freezes on military aid to Ukraine, but he appeared reluctant to rule it out completely. “I am not going to take any tools that the president has off the table, but I don’t anticipate anything on that front,” Vought told reporters when asked if no more aid freezes meant President Trump is no longer worried about Ukraine corruption. The president’s decision to halt $400 million to the country last fall not only prompted an impeachment inquiry, but was deemed illegal by a federal watchdog. Office of Management and Budget officials previously claimed that the administration held up the aid out of concern about corruption in the country. Vought's remarks came after a House Budget Committee hearing on the president’s fiscal 2021 budget request, which would preserve foreign military assistance to Ukraine through the State Department—a reversal from previous proposed budgets. Vought was subpoenaed last October by House impeachment investigators but he refused to comply.