Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Sunday called on the Obama administration to remove all support for Saudi Arabia, after that country reportedly bombed a funeral in Yemen.
“The administration should pull U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen because it’s harming America’s national security, enabling terrorist groups to thrive, and killing innocent civilians,” he said.
Murphy, a liberal member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has led a bipartisan push to cut military aid for the Saudis due to their attacks on civilians. That effort has failed so far because Saudi Arabia is a critical ally engaged in a fight against an Iran-backed group in Yemen.
Seventy-one senators voted in September to allow the Obama administration to proceed with a $1.15 billion sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, but the latest airstrikes provoked condemnation from the White House.
“U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a Saturday evening statement. “In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led Coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with U.S. principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen’s tragic conflict.”
Murphy seized on the opening to push for an immediate cancellation. “I know the administration is just as horrified as I am by the Saudis’ seemingly willful neglect for civilian life, but we are past the point of strongly worded statements,” he said. “If the U.S. is serious when it says our support for Saudi Arabia isn’t a blank check, then it’s time to prove it — because it’s clear the Saudi-led coalition isn’t listening.”
