WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday formally withdrew Elaine McCusker’s nomination to be Pentagon comptroller in fallout from President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
McCusker, currently acting comptroller and chief financial officer of the Defense Department, fought Trump’s decision last year to stall $250 million in Ukraine military aid. Emails documenting her objections leaked to a blog in January.
The decision to drop McCusker’s nomination was first reported by The Post last month.
A White House official said at the time, “This administration needs people who are committed to implementing the president’s agenda, specifically on foreign policy, and not trying to thwart it.”
Confirmation of McCusker’s fate was slow to reach Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., initially cast doubt on The Post’s report, saying he spoke with a Pentagon official and that “I have a feeling everything is going to be fine with the nomination.”
McCusker herself denied she was facing the ax.
Asked if she would credit The Post’s reporting, she responded last month: “I wouldn’t.”
It’s unclear if McCusker has been fired from her current position. Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood referred the question to the White House, which did not immediately respond.
McCusker joins others dismissed after Trump’s acquittal by the Senate. Last month, Trump fired Pentagon policy chief John Rood, who objected to the freeze on Ukraine aid.
Trump also fired Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union, who testified during impeachment proceedings. The National Security Council dismissed both Ukraine adviser Alexander Vindman, who testified, and his twin, Yevgeny, an attorney for the agency.
Trump defenders say the president lawfully stalled Ukraine aid to conduct a policy review of matters such as corruption, and deny the central impeachment allegation that he did so to force Ukraine to investigate Democrats including former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm.
In emails published ahead of Trump’s trial, McCusker repeatedly prodded the White House budget office, arguing that stalling too long would prevent the funds from being spent by the end of the fiscal year in violation of the law.
The White House budget office specified that planning to dispense the funds was allowed during the period of the Trump-ordered hold, which ended on Sept. 11.
Budget official Michael Duffey wrote to McCusker: “If you are unable to obligate the funds, it will have been DoD’s decision that cause any impoundment of funds.”
McCusker responded in a leaked email: “You can’t be serious. I am speechless.”
The Senate confirmed McCusker to be deputy undersecretary of defense (comptroller) in August 2017 and she took over the duties of her former boss, David Norquist, in July when he became deputy secretary of defense. Trump nominated McCusker to replace Norquist in November. The position comes with a $176,900 salary.
McCusker graduated in 1989 from the University of Dallas and worked three years in the early 2000s as a professional staffer for the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would have considered her nomination.