House Republicans on Tuesday blocked any quick vote on a Democratic bill that would have ended U.S. support in the civil war in Yemen.
The majority on the House Rules Committee stripped the privilege status of the War Powers Resolution sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and supported by other top Democrats, meaning it can not longer leapfrog committee hearings and be fast-tracked to the chamber floor.
The move comes as House Republicans capitalize on their last weeks in power before a Democratic majority takes over in January and is the latest chapter in the rising controversy on Capitol Hill over the war support.
“It is disappointing to me that we are trying to hide from this debate and also from and also a larger debate on what should our policy be towards Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member on the Rules Committee.
The Pentagon provides intelligence, logistical support, and until last week aerial refueling to Saudi Arabian war planes bombing Iran-backed Houthi rebels as part of the three-year-old civil war, which the United Nations has deemed one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
The Trump administration ended the refueling amid outcry over the Saudi bombing of civilians, including a school bus carrying 40 children, and the murder of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi dissident and Virginia-based columnist for the Washington Post.
Khanna, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced the war powers bill in September after a similar failed bid to withdraw the U.S. from the conflict last year.
His legislation has drawn 77 co-sponsors, virtually all Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the Armed Services ranking member, and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
