White House threatens to veto push to block Saudi arms sales

WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday it would veto Senate-passed measures to block its proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries.

“The transfer of these capabilities and services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan directly supports the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of friendly countries that continue to be important forces for political and economic stability in the Middle East,” according to a statement of administration policy memo.

That document, dated Thursday, was released hours after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone amid escalating tensions with Tehran. The White House statement cited that situation in defending the proposed sales.

“Additionally, the joint resolutions would affect the ability of our partners to deter and defend against Iran’s hostile acts,” the White House said. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia serves as a bulwark against the malign activities of Iran and its proxies in the region.”

The Senate earlier passed 22 resolutions disapproving of proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, sending the measures to the House, where they face good prospects for passage.

Over the course of three roll call votes, the Senate passed disapproval resolutions that under the Arms Export Control Act would allow Congress to try to block administration plans to export weapons. The chamber passed two of the 22 resolutions with identical votes of 53-45. Senators passed the remaining 20 resolutions in an en bloc vote, 51-45.

The Senate also isn’t finished speaking out about Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, the leaders of the Foreign Relations Committee announced they struck a deal to hold a markup next week on two pieces of legislation that could impose sanctions on certain Saudi individuals and make it much more difficult for the Trump administration to export weapons to the kingdom.

“I want to be clear to my friends in Saudi Arabia and really throughout the world that a strategic relationship has certain requirements attached to it,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and harsh critic of Riyadh, in floor remarks explaining his decision to vote against the arms sales. “You don’t have to run your country like the United States would have you do. You don’t have to mirror the United States in terms of your values, but you do have to respect the relationship.”

The resolutions covered each of the 22 components of an $8.1 billion arms package Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last month. In announcing the proposed sales, Pompeo declared an emergency situation with respect to Iran to avoid a statutory 30-day congressional review period.

However, Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Robert Menendez, who had informally blocked the Gulf weapons sales for over a year, organized a bipartisan group of senators to file the disapproval resolutions.

The New Jersey Democrat argued Pompeo’s declaration of an emergency situation with respect to Iran did not pass the smell test. He noted senior State Department officials have publicly admitted the department had for months prior considered issuing the emergency declaration to overcome his hold and that some portions of the weapons package would not be ready for delivery for months, if not years.