On Tuesday several senators remained undecided about a resolution that would end United States support for Saudi forces in the Yemeni civil war as they await an all-chamber briefing on Wednesday from Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Sponsored by a bipartisan coalition including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee, and Chris Murphy, the proposed bill would direct the removal of American armed forces from Yemen and end the United States’ assistance to Saudi-led forces in the bloody stalemate. The resolution failed 55-44 during a procedural vote in March; five Republicans expressed support for the resolution along with most Democrats, while most Republicans and ten Democrats opposed it.
Some of those Democrats have indicated their positions may have changed in the intervening months as the war in Yemen has become even more of a humanitarian nightmare and Saudi Arabia has tarnished itself with the gruesome killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A vote on the resolution is expected to take place sometime this week or next.
“I had a different position on it before, but things have changed with Khashoggi and everything,” West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, who opposed the resolution in March, told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re looking at it much differently.” He added that Wednesday’s briefing would be helpful because Mattis’ case against the resolution weighed into his decision last time. “I think that’d be a harder argument to make now, so I’m anxious to hear from him,” said Manchin.
Others were less open about their deliberations. “I’ll let you know,” Florida Democrat Bill Nelson dodged as he made his way through the Senate basement. Alabama Democrat Doug Jones said he hadn’t decided how he would vote. And when she was asked about the resolution, Catherine Cortez Masto offered only silence and an uncomfortable smile. “We think we may have the votes,” Sanders, who stood next to her in the elevator, told another reporter.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker appears undecided as well. On Tuesday, he suggested more senators may support the measure this time around, as an opportunity to punish Saudi Arabia.
“They are an entity we have a relationship with and one we want to keep. We don’t want to cut our nose off to spite our face, but there has to be some price to pay,” said the retiring Tennessee Republican. “And that price to pay hasn’t occurred yet. So while that imbalance is there, people are going to want to somehow or another try to address that imbalance.”
Corker declined to say how he would vote, but predicted the procedural steps for holding a vote may offer an opportunity for senators to bring forward unrelated amendments, which could devolve into a free-for-all.
South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, who has called for a firm response to the Saudi regime’s killing of Khashoggi, said he would still oppose the resolution, “because that affects our relationship with other countries. I think it’s the wrong way to deal with this problem.”
Graham said he expected “confirmation of the obvious” from Pompeo and Mattis during Wednesday’s briefing and added it was essential that the CIA be represented as well. Senators from both parties have called on CIA director Gina Haspel to be present in order to provide clarity on the intelligence community’s findings, as the president has sent mixed signals.
Trump has largely downplayed the CIA’s reported assessment that Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the journalist’s killing. He issued a statement affirming his support for the Saudi royal family last week and indicated he would not support retaliatory action above the sanctions already placed on 17 individuals the Saudi government has blamed for the Khashoggi operation.
“Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” the president wrote.
Pompeo reiterated the administration’s stance in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Tuesday night, writing that the U.S.-Saudi alliance is key to strategic interests in the Middle East, as well as defending American involvement in the Yemen conflict. “Without U.S. efforts, the death toll in Yemen would be far higher,” he wrote, pointing to American contributions to humanitarian relief. “There would be no honest broker to manage disagreements between Saudi Arabia and its Gulf coalition partners, whose forces are essential to the war effort,” Pompeo added.
The op-ed may be a preview of his message for senators on Wednesday—but it doesn’t answer the questions lawmakers plan to ask.
“I would like to know exactly what our intelligence has, what the analysis has revealed, and who’s responsible,” Colorado Republican Cory Gardner said on Tuesday. “I think we have that information. It’d be nice if they shared it with the Senate.”
“The question has to be asked and answered: Did MBS order the killing of Khashoggi?” Gardner continued. Asked how he would respond if Mattis and Pompeo choose not to answer, Gardner replied, “They have to answer that question.”
