Senate votes to halt US role in Saudi’s war in Yemen
WASHINGTON: Senate Republicans handed US President Donald Trump a stinging rebuke for his handling of the murder of a Saudi journalist, voting to pass a congressional measure to end US support for the Saudi-backed military coalition in Yemen.
The measures passed 63-37 in a Republican-controlled chamber on Wednesday with the backing of some of Trump’s key allies, who have felt frustrated by what they said is the president’s willingness to overlook the role played by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin-Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
“I changed my mind because I’m pissed.” Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who is a close adviser to Trump, told reporters after the vote.
The vote took place after a closed-door briefing by secretaries of state and defence Mike Pompeo and James Mattis, who failed to convince the lawmakers. Pompeo told reporters after the briefing that the resolution was “poorly timed” and passing it at time “undermines” the fragile peace talks between the Saudi backed coalition battling Iranbacked Houthi rebels, set to take place in Sweden.
Asked about the CIA’s assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing, Pompeo said, “I do believe I’ve read every piece of intelligence. Unless it’s come in in the last few hours, I think I have read it all. There is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi.”
Senators had wanted to hear CIA director Gina Haspel at the hearing but the White House chose to send only Pompeo and Mattis. The spy agency has disputed that the director was asked to not go to the hearing.