This archive report was first published on 21 December 2019.
On December 20, 2019, the Trump administration's advisers rejected a bid to force the administration to quickly release military assistance for Ukraine early next year.
According to three officials familiar with the discussions, Democrats agreed to drop the language, which would have forced the administration to release $250 million in defense aid to Ukraine within 45 days of enactment of the spending package, in order to avoid a government shutdown at midnight Friday.
President Trump was expected to sign the $1.4 trillion in spending legislation on Friday, along with a critical defense policy bill.
The discussion in the final days of negotiations over a dozen spending bills came after the administration's decision to withhold Ukraine military assistance became a central issue in the inquiry that led to President Trump's impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
A House Intelligence Committee investigation concluded that President Trump had frozen nearly $400 million in security assistance that Congress had allocated for Ukraine this year, using it as leverage in his quest to get the country's president to announce investigations into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and other Democrats.
Lawmakers in both parties had expressed concerns about the decision to withhold this year's money, and Democrats had proposed new language so that funds could not be withheld in the future.
However, the administration negotiated with lawmakers to have the language removed from the spending legislation, along with other provisions deemed to be so-called poison pills that would lead to a White House veto.
The spending package Mr. Trump is set to sign on Friday does, however, have language strengthening reporting requirements if the money is not obligated by budget officials within 90 days.
