--- title: Trump Tied Ukraine Funding to DNC Investigation: Mulvaney description: Trump's desire for Ukraine to investigate a conspiracy involving the DNC was part of the reason military aid was held up, Mulvaney said. canonical: https://time.com/5703826/trump-ukraine-dnc-investigation-mulvaney/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-17T19:09:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:05:32.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'Get Over It.' Trump Tied Ukraine Funding to an Investigation of the DNC, Says Mick Mulvaney og:description: Trump has denied there was a quid pro quo when it came to Ukraine military funding og:url: https://time.com/5703826/trump-ukraine-dnc-investigation-mulvaney/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2549c22584b024b9/698947e6656a3fcd21bd6e7a/president-trump-tax-returns.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Mulvaney: Democrats Will 'Never' See Trump's Tax Returns og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Get Over It.' Trump Tied Ukraine Funding to an Investigation of the DNC, Says Mick Mulvaney twitter:description: Trump has denied there was a quid pro quo when it came to Ukraine military funding twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2549c22584b024b9/698947e6656a3fcd21bd6e7a/president-trump-tax-returns.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Get Over It.' Trump Tied Ukraine Funding to an Investigation of the DNC, Says Mick Mulvaney > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: These Are the Key U.S. and Ukrainian Players in the Trump Impeachment Inquiry [Watch (HLS stream): These Are the Key U.S. and Ukrainian Players in the Trump Impeachment Inquiry](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vrG6riq4.m3u8) (3:15)  _Published 2019-10-11. President Donald Trump faces an impeachment inquiry in the wake of a recent whistleblower complaint alleging that he asked Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election_  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:05 PM UTCPublished: Oct 17, 2019 7:09 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after speaking during the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership meeting at The Venetian Las Vegas on April 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after speaking during the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership meeting at The Venetian Las Vegas on April 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:05 PM UTCPublished: Oct 17, 2019 7:09 PM UTC President Trump’s desire for Ukraine to investigate a [conspiracy](https://time.com/5691641/trump-conspiracy-fears/) involving the Democratic National Committee and the 2016 elections was part of the reason military aid was held up, White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Thursday. The moment captured a stark admission by President Trump’s top White House aide that Trump took [political considerations into account](https://time.com/5686788/ukraine-no-connection-aid-biden/) when deciding funding to a country the U.S. and allies have relied on in the past to counter Russia. Mulvaney insisted linking the aid was “absolutely appropriate” and went further to say that “there’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.” Trump has denied there was a [quid pro quo](https://time.com/5702858/this-five-hour-window-could-be-key-to-trumps-impeachment-inquiry/) when it came to Ukraine military funding and Mulvaney’s acknowledgement seemed to run counter to Trump’s comments. U.S. leaders have long tried to separate the appearance of political calculations from foreign policy actions, at least in public remarks. The Trump administration is turning that playbook on its head and saying that such actions are appropriate. “The look back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the things he was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate,” Mulvaney told reporters in the White House briefing room. In response to a question about whether the White House told Ukraine that funding will not flow to the unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened as well, Mulvaney said: “We do that all the time with foreign policy.” Mulvaney confirmed that Trump had also brought up the debunked conspiracy that Ukrainian individuals were involved in the investigation into the [Russian hacking of the DNC server](https://time.com/5565991/russia-influence-2016-election/) in 2016\. There was no such involvement. “Did he also mention to me in \[the\] past the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely,” Mulvaney said of a conversation he had with Trump. “No question about that. But that’s it, and that’s why we held up the money.” Political influence in foreign policy is “going to happen,” Mulvaney said. “I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy,” said Mulvaney. “That is going to happen. Elections have consequences, and foreign policy is going to change from the Obama administration to the Trump administration.” One consequence — domestic politics bleeding into Trump’s foreign policy — has now spilled into the open. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5703826/trump-ukraine-dnc-investigation-mulvaney/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5703826/trump-ukraine-dnc-investigation-mulvaney/"},"headline":"'Get Over It.' 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