US House rebukes Trump, votes to end support for Saudis in Yemen

THE Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a resolution that would end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, as many lawmakers sought to push President Donald Trump to toughen his policy toward the kingdom. It was the first time the House of Representatives has ever supported a war powers resolution, but the 248-177 vote, almost entirely along party lines, would not be enough, however, to overcome Trump’s promise to issue what would likely be his first veto.

Democrats and Republicans reintroduced the war powers resolution two weeks ago as a way to send a strong message to Riyadh about the humanitarian disaster in Yemen and condemn the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Eighteen Republicans joined all voting Democrats in supporting the measure, a striking curtailment of presidential war powers. The Senate is expected to vote on the resolution within 30 days. The vote puts pressure on the Senate to act. The Senate easily passed a similar measure late last year condemning the administration’s defense of the Saudi kingdom, but it died as the last Congress ended with the then Republican-controlled House not bringing it to a vote. A previous version of the resolution passed the Senate by 56-41 in December. But it was not brought up for a vote in the House, where Republicans held a majority until Democrats took control on Jan. 3, following sweeping victories in November’s elections.

The U.S. is, by far, the largest supplier of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and its support for the coalition has been crucial to the war in Yemen. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, transferring military equipment to third parties breaks the terms of the Saudi-led coalition’s arms deals with the U.S. Following the report, a U.S. defense official confirmed that an investigation into the issue was ongoing.

Yemen has been wracked by conflict for the last five years when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the former Saudi defense minister, and Saudi Arabia’s allies launched Operation Decisive Storm in March 2015. Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict. The last available U.N. figure for the civilian death toll was published in 2016 and stood at more than 10,000. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which tracks violence in Yemen, puts it at around 57,000 people. The war has damaged Yemen’s infrastructure, crippled its health system and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.