White House withdraws nomination of Pentagon official who shared concerns over Ukraine aid freeze

The White House announced Monday it has withdrawn the nomination of Elaine McCusker as Pentagon comptroller.

A career civil servant, McCusker has been serving as acting comptroller since July, and was nominated to take over the position permanently in November. The White House did not give a reason for the nomination's withdrawal. 



McCusker's name came up during President Trump's impeachment inquiry and trial. Trump was accused of withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to get the country to announce it was launching an investigation into Trump's political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.

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The Ukraine aid had been approved by Congress and signed by Trump, and emails showed McCusker let White House budget officials know she had concerns over whether the delay was legal, The Washington Post reports. Since Trump was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate in January, he has ousted several officials who testified during the impeachment inquiry, including Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a White House national security official, and former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

In a statement, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said McCusker is "paying the price for trying to ensure that the administration followed the law" and is "another casualty of the Trump administration's efforts to purge public servants who put country before fealty to the president."