Senate condemns Saudis over Yemen
Historic votes put pressure on House amid Trump’s stance
Historic votes deliver rebukes of President Donald Trump’s continued embrace of the kingdom.
WASHINGTON — The Senate cast two historic votes Thursday to end U.S. participation in the Saudiled war effort in Yemen and condemn the Saudi crown prince as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, delivering clear political rebukes of President Donald Trump’s continued embrace of the kingdom.
The unanimous vote to hold Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for Khashoggi’s murder reflects the extent to which senators of both parties have grown tired of Trump’s continued defense of Mohammed’s denials. It also puts significant pressure on leaders in the House — where the president’s Saudi policy is a much more partisan issue — to allow members to cast a similar vote condemning the crown prince before the end of the year.
The Senate votes Thursday set the stage for broader strategic debates about Saudi policy when Congress regroups next year.
Just before the Senate voted to condemn Mohammed over Khashoggi’s killing, senators voted 5641 to end U.S. participation in the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen by invoking the War Powers Resolution — the first time a chamber of Congress has done so.
The 56-vote majority, a figure that includes seven Republicans, suggests that Saudi critics will still have a majority next year to challenge Trump on Saudi policy. Republicans and Democrats have said they plan to pursue sanctions against Saudi officials involved in Khashoggi’s murder, to stop the transfer of nondefensive weapons until Saudi forces withdraw from Yemen, and other measures to restrain a crown prince whom many lawmakers see as out of control.
The votes came hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis briefed House lawmakers behind closed doors.
A recent CIA assessment found that Mohammed
was probably responsible for the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
“They have to be held responsible,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the incoming chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said after the briefing, referring to Mohammed and Saudi King Salman.
But there are Republicans in the House who defend the crown prince.
“We recognize killing journalists is absolutely evil and despicable, but to completely realign our interests in the Middle East as a result of this, when for instance the Russians kill journalists ... Turkey imprisons journalists?” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said. “It’s not a sinless world out there.”
That stands in contrast to the Senate, where several Republicans have been encouraging a broad response to Saudi Arabia over not just Khashoggi’s killing and the Yemen war, but the kingdom’s blockade in Qatar and a slate of human rights abuses they say have compromised the U.S.Saudi alliance.
Trump has refused to condemn Mohammed for the killing of Khashoggi.