Setting up a showdown with President Donald Trump, a fourth Republican senator has agreed to join the 47 Democrats in the Senate to take an initial step to block the president’s use of an emergency provision to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee joined three GOP colleagues – Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and Todd Young – as sponsors of the 22 resolutions of disapproval for each of the sales. The Senate is expected to vote on the issue next week and, if passed, would send the resolution to the House, where Democrats, who are in the majority, have vowed to also block the sales.
The unprecedented move is a sign of growing frustration in Congress about the relationship with Saudi Arabia amid concerns over Riyadh’s involvement in both the ongoing Yemen civil war and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.
There are other Republican senators also considering supporting the resolution to block the arms sales.
Other GOP voices in the Senate, such as Marco Rubio, say they have no problem with the sale, but “The problem I have is the process by which it was done, trying to get around the congressional role in it. I think it’s deeply problematic and it sets a terrible precedent.”
However, despite these GOP defections, it is unlikely that opponents of the sales will have enough votes to get the two-thirds necessary in each chamber to override an expected Trump veto.
The Trump administration has defended it use of emergency provisions, Politico reported
The State Department said the arms were “needed to help our partners better defend themselves and to reinforce recent changes to U.S. posture in the region to deter Iran."
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