Senate Votes to Block Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia, Rebuking Trump

(Bloomberg) -- Senators voted to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia in a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s decision to use an emergency declaration to move forward on the deal despite congressional objections.

“This is a power grab pure and simple with lasting implications for the role of congress in the sale of arms around the world and we cannot as an institution stand for it.” said Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

He’s the lead sponsor of the 22 resolutions disapproving of the $8 billion in sales to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.

The resolutions were adopted Thursday in three separate votes with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in support. The tallies of 53-45 for the first two votes, and 51-45 for the third, suggest that these measures are unlikely to get the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a Trump veto.

Republicans co-sponsoring the resolutions include Mike Lee of Utah and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina -- both allies of Trump -- as well as Rand Paul of Kentucky and Todd Young of Indiana.

Members of both parties have criticized Trump’s use of an emergency declaration to push through the sales, and have urged stronger consequences for Saudi Arabia’s role in the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi last fall.

“There is no amount of oil you can produce that will get me and others to give you a pass on chopping somebody up in a consulate, and did MBS do it? Yes,” Graham said, referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Saudi Arabia doesn’t protect the United States from Iran,” said Graham. “To believe otherwise is just recasting conditions on the ground.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “In the wake of such monstrosity, the Trump administration is proposing another round of billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”

Lawmakers have also expressed concern about civilian casualties in the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Also read: Senate to Vote on Blocking Saudi Arms Sale in Rebuke to Trump

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposed the resolutions, calling them an “overly blunt tool” that would hurt key relationships in the Middle East. Referring to the downing of a U.S. drone by Iran, he said the Senate couldn’t have picked “a worse time” for the votes.

Trump tweeted Thursday that Iran made a “mistake” following reports that Iran shot down an American spy drone near the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

--With assistance from Laura Litvan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna Edgerton

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