Last week, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution rebuking President Donald Trump and voting to cut off U.S. military assistance to the Saudi coalition fighting in Yemen.
The United States has been providing mainly intelligence and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. But lawmakers understand that the U.S. has been essentially enabling Riyadh to continue its military venture in the country, a war that has been one of the most devastating in recent history. The conflict has killed thousands of civilians since it began nearly five years ago. Entire neighborhoods in Yemen’s urban areas have been completely decimated by Saudi bombings, which have indiscriminately destroyed everything from hospitals to schools.
The landslide vote, numbering 248 to 177, was the first time the lower house of Congress used the War Powers Act as basis for legislation. Codified in 1973, the Act puts limits on the president’s ability to deploy troops indefinitely. If the House’s resolution passes the Senate as well, it could put Congress on a collision course with the White House.
The House decision was more than just a referendum on U.S. support for the Yemen conflict, it was a critique of the administration’s attitude toward the Saudi state in general. Lawmakers from both parties are not only disgusted by the carnage in Yemen. Many are also angry over what they see as Trump’s passive reaction to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an act almost certainly executed at the behest of top Saudi officials, perhaps even Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. The day after the vote, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, demanded the administration turn over documents it has with information relating to the journalist’s murder. A letter was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting records indicating whether any senior Saudi official or member of the royal family was connected to Khashoggi’s death.
