Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defense post

4/6/2025 13:25

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Michael Duffey, who in President Donald Trump's first administration asked the military to withhold aid to Ukraine, to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.



On the day that one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top aides visited Washington, the Senate voted 51-45, along party lines with Trump's fellow Republicans backing the nominee, to confirm Duffey as the official overseeing the Pentagon's weapons programs.



Democrats sought testimony from Duffey during Trump's first term as president after an email showed him, in his role as a senior White House official in the Office of Management and Budget, directing the Pentagon to withhold security aid for Ukraine that had been approved by Congress.



The inquiry, which led to Trump's first impeachment, focused on Trump's request that Zelenskiy investigate the president's political rival, Joe Biden, the former Democratic vice president who would defeat Trump in the 2020 election.



Democrats who impeached Trump said he had withheld the aid to put pressure on Zelenskiy's government to agree to an investigation.



Trump denied wrongdoing, accusing Democrats of seeking to overturn his 2016 election victory. Most congressional Republicans called the impeachment process unfair.