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House Passes Antiwar Yemen Resolution, 247-175

Congress has finally reasserted its role in matters of war and peace, and this ought to be just the first of many challenges to illegal and unnecessary wars.
ro khanna

The House has passed the resolution directing the president to withdraw the U.S. from the war on Yemen:

The House on Thursday gave final passage to a bipartisan resolution forcing an end to United States military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, sending President Trump a pointed rebuke over his continued defense of the kingdom after the killing of a dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

The 247-176 vote, with 16 Republicans joining united Democrats, invoked the rarely used War Powers Act to curb the president’s executive power to wage war without congressional approval. It likely sets up the second veto of his presidency, this time to publicly defend a four-year conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and inflicted a devastating famine.

Congress has made it clear that Americans do not support and have never consented to U.S. involvement in this war, and for the first time both houses have passed the same resolution in an attempt to force an end to an illegal foreign war. Trump is all but guaranteed to veto the resolution, but it is a major rebuke to him, the indefensible war on Yemen, and the Saudi coalition. It is regrettable that it has taken more than four years for Congress to take this action, but it is a testament to the hard work and dedication of antiwar activists and members of Congress that the cause of ending our support for this war has been brought center stage in our foreign policy debates. It is shameful that only 16 Republicans voted with the majority on this resolution. Following Trump’s veto, Congress should move to pass other measures to cut off arms sales and other support to the Saudi and Emirati governments. Passing this resolution was just the first step in the effort to stop support for the Saudi coalition and bring an end to the war, but it was a necessary one. Rep. Ro Khanna and his colleagues deserve enormous credit for persevering and seeing this through.

Congress has finally reasserted its role in matters of war and peace, and this ought to be just the first of many challenges to illegal and unnecessary wars.

Correction: The final vote was 274-175-1, not 247-276 as originally reported.

Update: The full roll call for the vote is here.

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