House Democrats are renewing their push to cut off U.S. involvement in Yemen’s bloody civil war, teeing up a direct challenge to President Donald Trump’s foreign-policy agenda.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told POLITICO on Monday that he planned to reintroduce a War Powers resolution in the coming days, and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), indicated that his panel would make the issue a top priority.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, continues to support the Saudi-led coalition, which has been engaged in bombing campaigns in Yemen targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Senate passed a version of the resolution last month after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and amid reports of a devastating humanitarian crisis. But the House, then under Republican control, blocked a vote on it. With Democrats now in control, it’s more likely the effort could reach Trump’s desk.
“I’m confident with the support of the Democratic leadership that we’re going to get a vote in February in the House on the War Powers resolution, and with Sen. Sanders’ leadership that it’s going to pass the Senate,” Khanna told POLITICO, referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “And when it does it will be the first time in the history of our country that a War Powers resolution would have passed both the House and the Senate to stop war. It’s long overdue, and this is going to do an enormous amount to end the suffering in Yemen.”
Read more at Politico.
