Ernst: Trump not giving a pass

Senator says president needs to tell Saudis ‘enough is enough’

President Donald Trump isn’t giving Saudi Arabia “a pass” on the crown prince’s culpability in the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but needs to tell its leaders “enough is enough,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-iowa, said Sunday.

In an interview on CNN’S “State of the Union,” Ernst said that the Saudis “are such an important ally in the region.”

“I wouldn’t say (Trump) is necessarily giving them a pass,” she said of his decision to stand by Saudi Arabia despite a CIA assessment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement in the slaying.

“However, I think at such a time when it becomes necessary, the president also needs to speak directly to the Saudis and say, ‘Enough is enough,’” she said. “And if there are indicators coming from those intelligence agencies, he also needs to be involved in some sort of action.”

Ernst also said she would “tend to be with my colleagues” in demanding congressional action against the Saudis.

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also said he disagrees with Trump’s assessment of the involvement of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the slaying of Khashoggi.

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Lee took exception to Trump’s assertion that there was no firm conclusion that bin Salman ordered the killing.

“The intelligence I’ve seen suggests that this was ordered by the crown prince,” Lee countered.

He called his understanding of the intelligence “another reason why

I’ve been pushing… to get us out of fighting Saudi Arabia’s civil war effort in Yemen.”

Talks to end Yemen’s three-year war pitting a Saudi-led coalition and rival Iran-aligned rebels are expected in December in Sweden.