Another Wisconsinite is reportedly tangled up in the probe into President Donald Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his opponent Joe Biden.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Michael Duffey, a politically appointed Office of Management and Budget official, was given authority by the White House to keep aid to Ukraine on hold after career budget staff members questioned the legality of delaying the funds.

Duffey previously served as executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

"While career civil servants put an initial hold on the aid, Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs in OMB, was given the authority for continuing to keep the aid on hold after the career staff began raising their concerns to political officials at OMB, according to people familiar with the matter," the newspaper reported.

Duffey also began overseeing the process for approving and releasing funds for other foreign aid and defense accounts, according to the report.

Trump's order to withhold nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine in July is at the heart of House Democrats' move to launch an impeachment inquiry into allegations that Trump used U.S. foreign policy powers to benefit himself politically.

Some sources told the Wall Street Journal that Duffey "took on the role because he was new to the job and wanted more insight into the apportionment process."

But his involvement was not typical.

"The involvement of a political official like Mr. Duffey in the apportionment process is unusual, according to several former OMB officials," the report said.

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Duffey, 41, left Wisconsin's Republican Party in December 2016 when he was named to then-President-elect Donald Trump's national security team at the Pentagon. He joined the administration when another prominent Wisconsin politician, Reince Priebus, was Trump's chief of staff. Priebus held that post until July 2017.

A native of Wauwatosa, Duffey held a number of high-level campaign positions in Wisconsin, including state director for John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

Duffey also worked in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Department of Defense. He served as the agency's liaison to the White House for then-President George W. Bush.

In July 2015, he took over as the day-to-day manager of the state Republican Party, replacing Joe Fadness, the former executive director.

Duffey is the grandson of longtime Milwaukee Braves announcer Earl Gillespie, said John Gillespie, Duffey's uncle and the host of the TV fishing show "John Gillespie's Waters & Woods."

Duffey didn't respond to a request for an interview.

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS or Facebook at facebook.com/mary.spicuzza.