{"id":38472,"date":"2019-12-02T21:17:27","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T21:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/02\/trump-administration-approves-100m-for-lebanon-military\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:05:17","slug":"trump-administration-approves-100m-for-lebanon-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/mideast-africa\/2019\/12\/02\/trump-administration-approves-100m-for-lebanon-military\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration approves over $100M for Lebanon military"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration has quietly released more than $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay that led some lawmakers to compare it to the aid for Ukraine<\/a> at the center of the impeachment inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $105 million in Foreign Military Financing funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces was released just before the Thanksgiving holiday, and lawmakers were notified of the step on Monday, according to two congressional staffers and an administration official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money had languished in limbo at the Office of Management and Budget since September, although it had already won congressional approval and had overwhelming support from the Pentagon, State Department and National Security Council. The White House has yet to offer any explanation for the delay despite repeated queries from Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers such as Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., had pressed the administration since October to either release the funds or explain why it was being withheld. The State Department had notified Congress on Sept. 5 that the money would be spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, the delay came up in impeachment testimony by David Hale, the No. 3 official in the State Department, according to the transcript of the closed-door hearing. Hale described growing consternation among diplomats about the delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House and the Office of Management and Budget have declined to comment on the matter. The State Department had offered only a cryptic response to queries, defending the assistance but also calling for Lebanese authorities to implement economic reforms and rein in corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with the Ukraine assistance, OMB did not explain the delay. However, unlike Ukraine, there has been no suggestion that President Donald Trump is seeking \u201ca favor\u201d from Lebanon in exchange for the aid, according to officials familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\t