Senators from both parties are eager to end the United States’ role assisting the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni civil war and to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October but a path forward for a number of legislative remedies remained unclear after a bipartisan meeting between a key group of lawmakers on Thursday morning.
A Yemen war powers resolution sponsored by Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee, and Chris Murphy could come to the floor as soon as next week, and its sponsors are seeking an agreement to avoid a potential quagmire that could ensue if senators are left to their own devices without determining rules for which amendments can be offered.
“There’s a lot of people who want to send that message [to Saudi Arabia] but also don’t want to shut down the Senate at the time when we got a lot of other important work to do,” Murphy told reporters. “The body could decide that only germane amendments can be brought, which would limit the amount of debate.”
While members such as Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker say they expect the underlying resolution to pass either way, lawmakers are also considering a more expansive sanctions bill sponsored by Todd Young and Bob Menendez, as well as a bipartisan nonbinding resolution introduced Wednesday night that would split with President Donald Trump in assigning responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder to Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman.
Murphy noted that the debate would have to kick over into next year regardless of whether the Senate passes the resolution, as House Republicans are unlikely to approve it while they remain in the majority before January. “Whatever we do in the Senate is only half a loaf. So I just don’t know that it makes a lot of sense to tie the Senate up in knots with a million amendments when the final product is not actually going to become law this this year,” said the Connecticut Democrat. “There’s general agreement amongst the people who are working on this that it’s not a great idea to have a wide open, wild, wild west debate in the Senate.”
Murphy argued that his resolution alongside Lee and Sanders represents a tough message to Saudi Arabia on its own, without the need for additional changes or sanctions. He said his colleagues could view it as not only a determination on the United States’ role in Yemen, but also a response to the kingdom’s killing of Khashoggi. “I don’t think that you have to get too fancy,” said Murphy.
A number of Republicans including Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham have shared constitutional concerns with the use of the War Powers Act, and the White House has indicated Trump would veto the measure. Still, the Senate voted 63-37 to discharge the Yemen resolution from the Foreign Relations committee for consideration last week. The bill failed on the same procedural vote in March, 55-44, meaning 19 senators have since shifted on the matter, including all 10 Democrats who previously opposed it.
That vote came after an all-senators briefing with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which was widely criticized by both parties on account of CIA director Gina Haspel’s conspicuous absence. Haspel met with a smaller group of chamber leaders and committee chairmen this week to provide further information, which only reinforced Senate efforts to punish Saudi leaders.
“He murdered him, no question in my mind,” Corker said of Mohammed bin Salman after the meeting with Haspel. “The crown prince directed the murder and was kept apprised of the situation all the way through.”
Corker has been cagey about where he stands on the Yemen war powers resolution, however, and he says he reserves the right to vote either way on the final product. He echoed on Thursday that an amendments agreement to avoid chaos on the Senate floor would be helpful.
“We have three different efforts underway, all of which have a lot of momentum,” he told reporters on Thursday morning. The Tennessee Republican added that some of the measures should go through the Foreign Relations committee to be examined before they reach the Senate floor, and suggested he plans to set up a meeting to do so next week.
Asked what hurdles the group may be facing, the retiring senator quickly responded, “I don’t have any hurdles. Meeting was fine. Everything’s great. I can’t imagine leaving on a higher note. It’s great.”
