Senate votes to terminate support for war in Yemen

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Wednesday to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition’s war in Yemen, bringing Congress one step closer to a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

Lawmakers have never invoked the decades-old War Powers Resolution to stop a foreign conflict, but they are poised to do just that in the bid to cut off U.S. support for a war that has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe.

The vote puts Congress on a collision course with Trump, who has threatened to veto the resolution, which the White House says raises “serious constitutional concerns.”

The measure, co-sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., and Mike Lee, R-utah, now moves to the Democraticcontrolled House, where it is expected to pass.

The resolution passed

54 to 46, with seven Republicans breaking with Trump to back it: Lee, Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Todd Young of Indiana.

“The bottom line is that the United States should not be supporting a catastrophic war led by a despotic regime with an irresponsible foreign policy,” Sanders said Wednesday. He said a vote for the measure would “begin the process of reclaiming our constitutional authority by ending United States involvement in a war that has not been authorized by Congress and is unconstitutional.”

A White House statement said the resolution would undermine the fight against extremism and that “by defining ‘hostilities’ to include defense cooperation such as aerial refueling,” it could “establish bad precedent for future legislation.”

A similar resolution passed the Senate in December, but it was not taken up by the then-gop-controlled House.

Approaching its fifth year, the war has killed thousands and left millions on the brink of starvation.