The Senate approved a resolution Thursday to end U. S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, dealing a significant blow to President Trump amid heightened…
The Senate approved a resolution Thursday to end U. S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, dealing a significant blow to President Trump amid heightened tensions over the death of U. S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Senators voted 56-41 on the resolution, which would require the president to withdraw any troops in or “affecting” Yemen within 30 days unless they are fighting al Qaeda.
ADVERTISEMENT
The resolution would still need to be passed by the House before it could be sent to Trump, who has threatened to veto it. The House on Wednesday narrowly approved a rule governing debate on the farm bill that included a provision that would prevent lawmakers from forcing a war powers vote this year.
Still, the Senate vote Thursday underscores the depth of frustration with Saudi Arabia on Capitol Hill, as well as the escalating gap between the White House and Congress on the relationship between the U. S. and the kingdom.
“I hope… we send a loud and powerful message by passing this resolution. That we’re going to bring peace to that country and that the United States Congress is going to reassert its constitutional authority to make the body that makes war not the president,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), one of the sponsors of the resolution, told reporters.
It’s a dramatic U-turn from less than nine months ago when the chamber pigeonholed the exact same resolution, refusing to vote it out of committee and onto full Senate. At the time, 10 Democrats joined 45 Republicans in opposing it.
The resolution’s passage comes less than a day after Trump maintained that he would stand by the Saudi government and specifically Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom U.
