One day before the White House is required by law to submit a report to
Congress on the Saudi murder of Jamal Khashoggi, lawmakers, particularly
senators, are gearing up for a new series of legislation designed to punish Saudi Arabia for the murder. The Senate already reintroduced one such bill.
Congressional aides say that there is no indication that President Trump is going to comply with the law
and submit any report at all on the murder. This is why bipartisan
lawmakers are moving to get legislation ready for that eventuality.
Previous attempts at such resolutions made progress in the Senate, but
were blocked by the former House leadership. The new House leadership
seems a lot more willing to advance such resolutions, and is already
allowing a floor vote on the Yemen War.
Voting to end the Yemen War is itself a major rebuke to the Saudis, as
far as many are concerned. Current efforts focused on sanctioning those
confirmed to be involved with the murder. Since all evidence is that
includes the Saudi Crown Prince, that’s likely to be an ongoing battle
with the White House.
US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Punish Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi Murder
White House expected to miss deadline on murder report
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
