• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, February 26, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Congress Sets Sights on Arms Sales in Latest Challenge to Trump’s Saudi Policy

Bryan Bowman by Bryan Bowman
06/10/19
in National
US President Donald Trump (R) holds a defense sales chart with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, DC

US President Donald Trump holding up a defence sales chart with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March. Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In the latest Congressional attempt to check President Donald Trump’s foreign policy powers, a bipartisan duo in the Senate introduced a resolution on Monday that will force a vote on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the broader U.S. relationship with the Kingdom.

Democrat Chris Murphy and Republican Todd Young introduced a joint resolution that, if passed, would force Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to produce a report on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record before proposed arms sales can be finalized.

Last week, the Trump administration angered lawmakers from both parties by attempting to sidestep Congress and approve $8.1 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan citing the president’s “emergency” powers.

In response, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez proposed 22 separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval in an effort to block each unauthorized weapons sale.

Murphy and Young’s resolution is based on a clause in the Foreign Assistance Act, which grants Congress the right to demand information on the human rights records of countries that will be recipients of Americans weapons.

“The process we are setting in motion will allow Congress to weigh in on the totality of our security relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just one arms sale, and restore Congress’s role in foreign policy-making,” Murphy said in a statement.

The Foreign Assistance Act stipulates that the administration must provide Congress a report within 30 days and that Congress can then vote to terminate or restrict all pending or future assistance to the country.

3/ In this case, Saudi Arabia just lied to our face for 2 weeks (until they got caught) about the Khashoggi killing and they refuse our pleas to stop bombing civilians in Yemen. They are our least – not most – trusted ally right now.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 8, 2019


Citing the supposed “malign influence” of Iran in the Middle East, the Trump administration attempted to expedite the arms sales and bypass Congress by invoking an emergency loophole in the Arms Export Control Act.


Reasserting War Powers 

But particularly following the murder of Washington Post journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey in October, many representatives from both parties have conveyed a desire to reassert Congress’ role in foreign policy decision making, particularly on matters related to Saudi Arabia.

While Trump condemned the killing – reportedly ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – he specifically cited weapons sales to the Kingdom as a reason his administration declined to take punitive action.

Members of Congress, including many from Trump’s own party, directly challenged the administration’s approach, arguing the assassination was a brazen and unacceptable move that must not go unpunished.

“If you give this guy a pass after he disrespected you, you will look weak,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who also called the crown prince “nuts,” told Trump in November.

In a historic moment in April, Congress passed a War Powers Resolution with bipartisan support directing the administration to end its military support for a Saudi-lead coalition waging a war in Yemen.   

The passage of the resolution marked the first time Congress had ever invoked the 1973 War Powers Act in an effort to end U.S. military participation in an unauthorized war. Though the resolution was vetoed by Trump, the bill’s Senate sponsor Bernie Sanders said the vote was a “historic” step in a broader effort to “reassert the constitutional authority of the United States Congress on issues of war.”

In a statement on his newly proposed resolution, Young cited the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen – considered to be the worst in the world by the United Nations – as a reason why Congress must provide oversight on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

“The ongoing humanitarian crisis and complicated security environment in Yemen requires our sustained attention and we cannot permit U.S. military equipment to worsen the situation on the ground,” he said.

The U.S. has played a key role in supporting the Saudi-coalition, which has been accused of indiscriminately bombing civilian homes and infrastructure with American-made weapons systems.

Murphy and Young’s resolution is “privileged,” meaning the representatives can force a vote on it in both chambers of Congress after ten days.


More on the Subject 

Trump’s Yemen Veto Deepens, Prolongs Crisis [Rights Groups]

ShareTweet
Bryan Bowman

Bryan Bowman

Email Bryan at bryan.bowman@theglobepost.com or follow him on Twitter @TGPBryanBowman

Related Posts

Khaled Batarfi
Middle East

Al-Qaeda’s Leader in Yemen Under Arrest: UN Report

by Staff Writer
February 5, 2021
A single falcon can fetch up to tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.
World

Poachers’ Paradise: Gulf Hunts Fuel Pakistan Falcon Trafficking

by Staff Writer
January 4, 2021
Saudi human rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul.
Middle East

Saudi Activist’s Suspended Sentence Paves Way for Early Release

by Staff Writer
December 28, 2020
Saudi human rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul.
Middle East

Jailed Saudi Activist in Terrorism Court on ‘Spurious’ Charges: UN Experts

by Staff Writer
December 10, 2020
Jailed Saudi activists
World

Families of Jailed Saudis Appeal to World Ahead of G20

by Staff Writer
November 21, 2020
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Middle East

G20 Host Saudi Under Fire Over Human Rights; Activists Call for Boycott

by Staff Writer
November 19, 2020
Next Post
Sudanese protesters rally outside the army complex in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on April 18, 2019

Sudan Businesses Shut as Protesters Keep Up Civil Disobedience

Demonstrators march in an LGBT pride parade in Uganda.

Botswana Scraps Anti-Gay Laws in Landmark Decision

Recommended

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

February 26, 2021
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Khartoum, last August

Sudan’s Normalization With Israel Is a Win for Everyone

February 26, 2021
Ethiopian refugees who fled the conflict in Tigray gather to receive aid at the Tenedba camp.

Eritrean Troops Killed ‘Hundreds’ in Ethiopia Massacre: Amnesty

February 26, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine

Syria Health Workers to Receive Covid Vaccine From Next Week

February 25, 2021
Moria migrant camp which was destroyed in a fire in 2020 on the Greek Aegean island of Lesbos.

Pregnant Migrant Sets Herself on Fire in Greek Camp

February 24, 2021
HRW released a statement on China's increasing prosecution of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

China Targets Uighurs With More Prosecutions, Longer Prison Terms: HRW

February 24, 2021

Opinion

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

February 26, 2021
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Khartoum, last August

Sudan’s Normalization With Israel Is a Win for Everyone

February 26, 2021
Stolpersteine in Greifswald, Germany.

I Can’t Mark Where My Grandfather Is Buried, but I Want to Mark Where He Lived

February 26, 2021
Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley

Trump’s Acquittal and Republican Senators: Not Setting the Bar Low Enough

February 22, 2021
Why Not Equality for America’s Puerto Rican Men and Women?

Why Not Equality for America’s Puerto Rican Men and Women?

February 19, 2021
Refugee child holding up a sign reading 'we are human like you'

US Asylum Laws Must Catch up With the Reality of Today’s Refugees

February 18, 2021
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post