Even Republican Senators Are Sick of Doing Business with Saudi Arabia
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We learned late last month that Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo planned to bypass Congress by declaring a national emergency in order to go forward with arms sales with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth roughly $8 billion. Pompeo’s justification for waiving Congressional oversight centered on tensions with Iran, and that comes with a certain irony, since these sales are bound to exacerbate those tensions. (As part of the deal some U.S. bombs will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia.) As Politico reports, Congress has struck back with a bipartisan effort to regain some measure of control over Trump’s actions, and it starts with a human rights investigation:
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) are using a provision in the Foreign Assistance Act to request a report from the administration on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which could eventually trigger a vote to halt billions in arms sales which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is moving forward despite congressional opposition.