Senate heading for historic vote to pull US military aid to Saudi Arabia – By Susan Ferrechio (washingtonexaminer.com) / Dec 6 2018
The Senate could begin debating a measure as early as Monday that would override the Trump administration and force the withdrawal of U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
The effort is fueled in large part by a strong sense among lawmakers in both parties that the United States needs to rebuke Saudi Arabia over the murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
The Senate has never considered a measure to withdraw U.S. military forces from an overseas conflict, and the resolution would compel them to take such a vote. Many think the Senate will take it up.
The vote hasn’t been scheduled yet, but Senate lawmakers anticipate Monday’s agenda will include passage of a motion to proceed to the joint resolution.
“My guess is it’s got more than 51,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., referring to a majority vote in the Senate that would be needed to proceed to the measure. “My sense is the motion to proceed will be successful.”
The tri-partisan measure is sponsored by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. and calls for ending U.S. military involvement in the war between a Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Sanders, Lee, and Murphy believe the United States should not be aiding the Saudis in a war that has created a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
According to lawmakers, 10,000 civilians have been killed in the war and 40,000 have been wounded. The majority of the population is struggling to avoid starvation.
A large faction of Republican lawmakers is eager to avoid a vote on the War Powers Act because they believe it would set a dangerous precedent that could be applied to any United States ally. At the same time, they are determined to rebuke the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA determined is responsible for the October murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Corker, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and other lawmakers are working behind closed doors to come up with an alternative to the War Powers Resolution that would sanction the crown prince, although Corker would not provide the details of that plan.
Lawmakers will meet Thursday morning to discuss what they hope can serve as a substitute to the Lee-Sanders-Murphy resolution.
Graham is mulling a variety of alternatives, including one that would stop the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and suspend U.S. support in Yemen until the crown prince is punished or held accountable for Khashoggi’s death.
On Wednesday, Graham and others introduced a resolution that holds the crown prince responsible for Khashoggi’s murder and calls for the United States and the international community to hold the Saudis and the crown prince responsible.
It’s not clear now the resolution will impact the Lee-Sanders-Murphy measure.
Murphy said he won’t support any bill that leaves the U.S. in Yemen.
“I’m upset about Khashoggi,” Murphy said Wednesday as he walked into the Senate chamber for a vote. “But I’m more upset about the fact that this Congress has allowed thousands of kids to die inside Yemen. If this resolution doesn’t end U.S. participation in the war in Yemen then there are not 50 votes for the final product.”
