Top Trump Cabinet officials are set to brief Congress on Yemen as a Wednesday deadline approaches for U.S. military support of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen’s civil war.
The president delegated Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to speak to lawmakers about U.S. refueling assistance and efforts to limit civil casualties, which is required under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The law signed by President Trump in August sets a Wednesday deadline for the briefing and a certification by Pompeo that the U.S. allies are working to end the war and alleviate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Otherwise, the NDAA mandates the military ends its in-flight refueling of the Saudi and UAE aircraft, which have waged war for three years on Houthi rebels as they vie for control of the country.
Scrutiny of the U.S. refueling assistance intensified last month when a Saudi airstrike hit a school bus and killed 51 civilians, including 40 children. The United Nations has also warned that Yemen is in the grips of one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
“Based on this, we believe America’s national security interests and our humanitarian principles demand that we redouble our efforts to press all parties to end the civil war, protect civilians, and provide full and unfettered humanitarian access,” Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., recently wrote in a letter to Pompeo.
Mattis had urged Congress this year to maintain military support and said the Pentagon can better help its allies limit civilian casualties by working closely with them.
