The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to end U.S. support of Saudi Arabia in Yemen's civil war, a rejection of the Trump administration's backing of the Riyadh-led military campaign.
President Donald Trump is expected to veto the resolution, which the House approved by a 247-175 vote — primarily along party lines. The resolution was passed in the 100-member Senate last month with the support of seven Republicans, making Thursday's vote the first time both congressional chambers voted to invoke the War Powers Resolution to end a foreign conflict.
The issue was a high priority for House Democrats after they assumed control of the chamber in January, blaming the Saudi-led bombing campaign for exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the four-year civil war and triggered what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Millions of other Yemenis are on the brink of starvation.
Supporters of the resolution contend that U.S. involvement in the war violated the constitutional requirement that only Congress should determine when the country goes to war.
Opponents argue that support for the Saudi-led coalition was not an appropriate use of the War Powers Act, which limits the president's ability to authorize troops for military action.
Opposition to the war intensified last year after the murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had written articles critical of the Saudi kingdom. He was killed in October by agents of the Saudi kingdom while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
U.S. intelligence agencies believe Khashoggi's murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Republican and Democratic legislators have scrutinized U.S.-Saudi relations and have criticized Trump for not condemning Saudi Arabia strongly enough.
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