Obama defied Congress to hand $220 MILLION to Palestinians in dying hours of his time in office - and gave millions for climate change too
State Department quietly sent $221 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which Congress had voted to block
Advisory vote by Republicans is usually respected - but Obama administration formally advised Congress on Friday morning that it was sending money anyway
Other cash which was handed out including $4 million for climate change programs - a move likely to anger the Trump administration
Officials say the Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking.
A State Department official and several congressional aides said the outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning.
The official said former Secretary of State John Kerry had informed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday.
The aides said written notification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office.
In addition to the $221 million for the Palestinians, the Obama administration also told Congress on Friday it was going ahead with the release of another $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 million for climate change programs and $1.25 million for U.N. organizations, the congressional aides said.
The last-minute allocation also contained $1.05 million in funding for the State Department's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan office and the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4149484/US-sent-221-million-Palestinians-Obamas-hours.html#ixzz4WgtjMlgH