WASHINGTON — In back-to-back votes against Saudi Arabia, the Senate delivered an unusual rebuke of President Donald Trump’s response to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and signaled new skepticism from Capitol Hill toward the longtime Middle East ally.
Although the resolutions are largely symbolic — because it’s unclear if they will be considered by the House — their passage Thursday showed senators seeking to assert oversight of Trump administration foreign policy and the relationship with Saudi Arabia.
It also marked the collapse of the Trump administration’s effort in the Senate to contain fallout from the gruesome killing.
But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that while the administration respects the view of the Senate it will not change course in supporting Saudi Arabia. He said the Saudis serve as a bulwark in combating aggression from Iran that threatens the United States, and that Trump would not relent on policies aimed at protecting Americans. Pompeo noted that the U.S. has taken action against some Saudis implicated in the murder, banning them from traveling to the U.S.
“President Trump has been very clear about not only the importance of holding accountable those who murdered Jamal Khashoggi but the importance of protecting American citizens,” he said, pointing to Iran’s support for rebels in Yemen and militia in Iraq that have killed U.S. troops.
One of the Senate measures recommended that the U.S. end its assistance to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen. The other put the blame for the death of Khashoggi squarely on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Both had been vigorously opposed by the Trump administration and threatened with a presidential veto. Top brass was on Capitol Hill ahead of voting to prevent further action in the House.
“The current relationship with Saudi Arabia is not working,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who opposed the Yemen resolution but called the crown prince “so toxic, so tainted, so flawed” after Khashoggi’s killing that “you’re never going to have a relationship with the United States Senate unless things change.”
The bipartisan votes came two months after the Saudi journalist’s slaying at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and after Trump persistently equivocated over who was responsible. U.S. intelligence officials concluded that bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but Trump has repeatedly praised the kingdom.
Senators made clear where they put the blame. The resolution, passed by unanimous agreement, says the Senate believes the crown prince is “responsible for the murder” and calls for the Saudi Arabian government to “ensure appropriate accountability.”
Senators voted 56-41 to recommend that the U.S. stop supporting the war in Yemen, a direct affront to the administration’s war powers abilities.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who co-sponsored the Yemen resolution with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, called passage a “historic moment.”
Lee said Khashoggi’s death focused attention “on the fact that we have been led into this civil war in Yemen half a world away” and “we’ve done so following the lead” of Saudi Arabia
“What the Khashoggi event did was to demonstrate, hey, maybe this isn’t a regime that we should just be following that eagerly into battle,” Lee said.
