A federal watchdog’s report that the White House budget office broke the law in withholding aid to Ukraine is “moot” when it comes to the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, because he eventually released it, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found the White House Office of Management and Budget violated the Impoundment Control Act when the budget office withheld nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. The law specifies how the White House can veer from specific spending instructions from Congress, and the GAO found the White House did not follow that guidance.

Trump was pressuring Ukrainian officials at the time to investigate political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, according to congressional testimony. It led to Trump’s impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives and an impending trial in the Senate that could lead to his removal from office if a significant number of Republican senators vote against him.

But for Ernst, an Iowa Republican up for reelection this November, the GAO report released Thursday has no bearing on the Senate trial and doesn’t bolster Democratic calls for witness testimony, either.

“One thing to remember, folks, is that the president did actually provide aid to Ukraine," Ernst said in a telephone news conference Thursday morning, shortly before the Senate’s trial formally began. “So, the point is moot, I believe.”

She added that Trump included lethal aid — meaning military weapons ­— to Ukraine as it battled Russian-backed separatists in its territory. President Barack Obama did not provide military weapons, despite Congressional will to do so, she said.

“The one to actually follow through with congressional intent was President Trump, and he provided lethal aid to the Ukrainians,” Ernst said. “So, again, I think the point is moot. So, no I don't believe that we need to hear from additional witnesses based on that information because he got the aid to Ukraine, and in a way that was specified by Congress. So he did actually follow through on congressional intent. So that in itself, I don't believe is a qualifier for additional witnesses."

She criticized House Democrats for waiting nearly a month between voting to impeach Trump and sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, and called it a "political exercise." Ernst cited some recently elected House Democrats who called for Trump's impeachment during their campaigns and before being sworn in.

"The whole process has really been odd or unusual, or bizarre in some mannerisms," Ernst said. "All we can do at this point is take the record that's been prepared by the House and we will see what they have to present to us."

Questions on how the trial itself will proceed will be addressed after the House makes its case, Ernst said.

The White House budget office is headed by Mick Mulvaney, who is also Trump’s acting chief of staff. In October, Mulvaney said the money was withheld in part because Trump wanted the Ukrainian government to investigate potential corruption related to the 2016 election, which critics seized as admission the president used congressionally approved money for leverage in domestic politics. Mulvaney later said it was withheld over general concerns about corruption.

The Office of Management and Budget suspended the aid in July. It was released in September after the House opens an investigation into a related whistleblower complaint filed by a CIA officer.

Mulvaney is one of several people Senate Democrats want to subpoena in the president’s impeachment trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has resisted that effort. Mulvaney did not comply with a subpoena by House Democrats in their impeachment inquiry.

Nick Coltrain is a politics and data reporter for the Register. Reach him at ncoltrain@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8361. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.