Failing to Override Trump on Yemen, Congress Must Keep Pushing

 In Congress, Saudi Arabia, Trump Administration, Yemen

Washington, D.C. — May 2, 2019 — In response to the Senate failing to secure the two-thirds majority vote necessary to override President Trump’s veto of S.J.Res. 7, legislation directing the president to withdraw U.S. support for the war in Yemen, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:

“Congress’ persistence in the face of the president’s veto is admirable. Successful or not, every congressional effort to end our involvement in Yemen puts more pressure on Saudi Arabia to end the war. While proponents of a responsible and just foreign policy have so far fallen short of ending our nation’s complicity in this war, their organizing has put the future of U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia on thin ice, incentivizing Saudi Arabia to change its conduct and negotiate in good faith. At the same time, grassroots efforts to end U.S. involvement in Yemen are foregrounding a critical debate on our nation’s foreign policy in Yemen and beyond in the lead up to the 2020 election.

“As U.S. support for this war continues, 14 million Yemenis facing war-induced starvation may wonder which U.S. national interests their protracted suffering serve, or which interests justify their suffering as acceptable collateral damage. The 75 percent of Americans who oppose U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen may wonder the same.

“While this vote marks the end of the road for the Yemen war powers resolution, it does not relieve Congress of its responsibility to act. Congress has a moral duty to continue pushing for an end to U.S. military involvement in Yemen, whether by blocking funding for the war, or blocking arms sales to members of the Saudi-led coalition. The American people, the Constitution and basic human decency demand action.”

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at www.PeaceAction.org.

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