THE Senate plans to vote on Thursday on a resolution that seeks to withdraw US support for Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen.
The resolution, S.J.Res. 54, proposed as a punishment for the killing of dissident columnist Jamal Khashoggi, would aim to end US assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The chamber is set to begin considering amendments to the measure at 1:45 p.m.
President Donald J. Trump has sought to play down Saudi Arabia’s responsibility for the killing and dismembering of Khashoggi, instead choosing to emphasize the importance of the two countries’ alliance. The United Nations has said as many as 14 million people could be at risk in Yemen in the coming months as famine spreads.
The Senate voted 60-39 to begin debate on the resolution. Senators say passage would send a strong message to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman because it targets his most important foreign policy priority. The White House has threatened a veto.
Earlier Wednesday, the House voted to block members from forcing that chamber to vote on the Yemen resolution this month. Without action in both chambers by year’s end, it will be up to lawmakers to restart the entire debate when their new session starts in January.
The House action means the only rebuke of Saudi Arabia with a realistic chance of passing the House and Senate this year is a separate nonbinding resolution condemning Prince Mohammed as being responsible for Khashoggi’s death.
Senate Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on a stronger proposal to ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia and impose sanctions on those involved in Khashoggi’s killing. A bipartisan group of senators said on Wednesday they’ll try again to get a vote on that measure in January.
Congress needs to send a message to allies that “you cannot kill with impunity and believe you can get away with it,” said Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a senior voice on foreign policy and ally of Trump, repeated his argument that the president is “wrong about what’s going on” with Prince Mohammed.
“They need us a lot more than we need them,” Graham said. The US needs to insist on “fundamental change” in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding, “I have a fundamental difference with the president as to how to bring that about.”