Congress threw down its war-powers gauntlet today, as the House joined the Senate in approving a resolution calling for an end to U.S. military support for forces led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s brutal civil war.
Politico calls the bipartisan measure “yet another harsh rebuke of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.”
And it made history: the House vote marked the first time that “both chambers of Congress have voted to invoke the war-powers resolution to end U.S. military engagement in a foreign conflict,” reports the Washington Post.
Thursday’s vote was 247-175, mostly along party lines, though some Trump allies like Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) voted in favor. Seven Republicans helped pass the resolution in the Senate last month.
Rebels backed by Iran are trying to overthrow Yemen’s government, but the war has devastated the country and killed uncounted civilians and left many more starving.
“No blank checks any more. No blank checks to say that administration can run wars without getting the approval of Congress,” said Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “No more war in which we’re complicit where a wholesale population is starving.”
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen was a top priority for House Democrats after they took control in January. But, says Politico, the votes on both sides of Capitol Hill reflect “broad dissatisfaction … with Trump’s foreign policy,” particularly his continued support of Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Still, the measure does not appear to have enough Congressional backing to override a nearly certain Trump veto.
