Senate votes to end US aid for Yemen war

Washington, March 14 

The US Senate has dealt a stinging bipartisan rebuke to Donald Trump’s foreign policy and his alliance with Riyadh, voting to end support for the bloody Saudi-led war effort in Yemen. 

Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled chamber approved on Wednesday a historic curtailment of presidential war powers that directs Trump “to remove US Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen” within 30 days. The Senate vote was 54 to 46, with seven Republicans defying the President and aligning with Democrats. 

The White House has threatened a veto, calling the measure “flawed” and saying it would harm bilateral ties in the region and hurt Washington’s ability to fight extremism. But its full passage would set a historic marker. It would be the first measure passed by Congress to invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution to directly curtail a President's use of military powers.

“We begin the process of reclaiming our constitutional power by ending US involvement in a war that has not been authorised by Congress and is unconstitutional,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. — PTI