House votes to block Saudi arms sales in face of Trump’s veto threat
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday sided with the Senate in passing three resolutions to ban sales of precision-guided munitions and other weaponry and technology to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
A majority of lawmakers approved three resolutions aimed at blocking exports of defense weapons and services to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and some European nations without congressional approval. The resolutions cover only three of the 22 deals announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo back in May and focus specifically on the sale of precision-guided munitions like Raytheon’s Paveway bombs, the main source of concern for lawmakers. Four Republicans broke ranks to vote for the motions, while there were no detractors among Democrats, who were joined by one independent.
Still, the figure is not enough to override US President Donald Trump’s looming veto.
In three separate statements on Tuesday, the Trump administration said that the transfer of the weapons and technology that would allow Saudi Arabia to manufacture the fusing elements for the precision-guided bombs on its soil “directly supports the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States.” Justifying the sale, the White House said that Riyadh “serves as a bulwark against Iran and its proxies’ malign activities in the region,” arguing that along with additional US training, the “provision of precision-guided munitions would further help the Saudis mitigate the risk of civilian casualties.”
So far, however, the reality on the ground in Yemen has been very different, given the well-documented history of US-made weapons being used to obliterate civilians there, such as a school full of children in August last year.
With its vote, the House follows in the Senate’s footsteps that last month passed 22 disapproval resolutions of its own, one for each deal. Trump’s decision to sidestep Congress and invoke emergency powers to clear some $8.1 billion in arms sales to the US' Arab allies has sparked major backlash, with some Republicans, most prominently Trump’s staunch ally Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), voicing their opposition.
The opponents of the sales argue that there is no ongoing emergency that would have justified such a move in circumvention of the established procedure, which requires Congress to approve major military transfers. However, while some Republicans took issue with the Trump administration’s decision, the overwhelming majority stood behind the president. The House Homeland Security Committee’s top Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-Texas) argued on Tuesday that the sales were an essential part of “a larger effort to deter Iran.”
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