Congress can often be a slow, cumbersome train where even the most common-sense proposals can get stuck in the machinery of bureaucracy and politics. In far too many cases, it takes a foreign policy or domestic crisis to jolt members of Congress out of their complacency.
The brutal, state-sanctioned assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a crime the CIA concluded was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is one of those seminal events. Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have come together in rare bipartisanship to not only denounce the assassination, but to urge the Trump administration to take punitive action against the Saudi government in response.
The Republican chairman and Democratic ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee instructed the White House to determine whether Crown Prince Mohammed was responsible in any way for Khashoggi’s death — a determination that could lead to asset freezes and visa restrictions. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has promised a “deep dive” on the U.S.-Saudi relationship as a whole. And the Senate demanded an all-senators briefing from administration officials this week on everything from the Khashoggi affair to the war in Yemen, a conflict Washington has unjustifiably and unconstitutionally aided and abetted on behalf of the Saudi and UAE-led military coalition over the last three and a half years.
The Trump administration, which has largely given Saudi Arabia the benefit of the doubt as well as unconditional support (neither of which is in the U.S. national security interest) is now under pressure from Capitol Hill to (at the very least) undergo a reappraisal of its policies. The past month has illustrated how Congress can have a positive impact in the policy process.
The drafters of the Constitution wouldn’t have it any other way. The framers who assembled in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were deeply cognizant of how dangerous an American-style monarchy would be to an individual’s personal liberty and to the development of good policy. An unbalanced system of government would be anathema to public accountability and to the consent of the governed. To bestow king-like powers upon a president would set a slippery slope to a quasi-monarchy, where decisions affecting the nation’s prosperity and security were made by one individual.
The legislative branch possesses extraordinary power in regards to foreign policy, from deciding when it’s in the national interest for the U.S. to go to war, to which of the president’s priorities and programs are funded. When lawmakers are able to unify across political divides on an issue, Congress can restrain the executive branch and at times force the president to change policy. The families of Sept. 11 victims, for example, would not have the legal right today to take Saudi Arabia to court over the Kingdom’s connections to the attack were it not for the decision by Congress to override former President Barack Obama’s veto.
President Trump may not appreciate what he likely considers second-guessing from Capitol Hill, particularly at a time when he is trying to maintain a business-as-usual relationship with Riyadh, but he is duty bound to respect it. Congress is not a peanut gallery offering useless advice from the bleachers. Congress can act as a star player on the field that can influence what the final score will be.
By demanding answers on the Khashoggi killing; grilling officials in private briefings and public hearings about why the administration still believes the Saudi government deserves unlimited American support; and forcing the foreign policy bureaucracy to reassess a bilateral relationship built on principles that are sorely out of date, lawmakers are fulfilling their constitutional obligations.
Saudi Arabia is not a strategic ally of the United States, nor is it an especially helpful security partner. The Saudis, rather, are like every other actor in the Middle East: oppressive and anti-democratic, but useful when our counterterrorism interests align. If or when Trump finally arrives at that conclusion, we have Congress to thank.
Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a fellow at Defense Priorities.
