Trump impeachment inquiry: ​William Taylor, top diplomat in Ukraine, to testify to House committees — live updates – CBS News

Key facts and latest news

• William Taylor, the top U.S. official in Ukraine, is scheduled to testify before lawmakers behind closed doors on Tuesday.
• President Trump on Monday urged Republicans to unite behind him on impeachment, saying they “have to get tougher and fight.”
• Russ Vought, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), tweeted Monday morning that he and Mike Duffey, another top OMB official, will not comply with congressional requests for interviews.
• On a July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

Washington — The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine is set to testify before House lawmakers leading the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday, the latest diplomatic official to appear before the committees despite a White House directive not to cooperate with investigators.

William Taylor, the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Kiev, was involved in the events at the center of the impeachment inquiry. In messages with other diplomats from August and September released earlier this month, Taylor raised concerns about the U.S. withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.

“I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” Taylor wrote to Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker, two other officials who have testified before the committees.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Monday, the president implored congressional Republicans to fight back against Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

“I watched a couple of people on television today talking about it. They were talking about what a phony deal it is, and Republicans have to get tougher and fight,” Mr. Trump said. “We have some that are great fighters, but they have to get tougher and fight because the Democrats are trying to hurt the Republican Party for the election, which is something where we’re doing very well.”

The president said he thinks Democrats “fight dirty,” but have two advantages: “They’re vicious, and they stick together.”

“They don’t have Mitt Romney in their midst,” the president said, referring to the Utah senator who has become a vocal critic of his administration. “They don’t have people like that. They stick together. You never see them break off.”

Mr. Trump said Democrats “want to impeach me because it’s the only way they’re going to win. They’ve got nothing.”

“This whole thing is very bad for our country,” the president said.