The Senate on Tuesday narrowly rejected an effort to block part of President Trump’s $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
Senators voted 47-53 on advancing the resolution, falling short of the simple majority needed to move forward. GOP Sens. Mike Lee
Michael (Mike) Shumway LeeLawmakers flooded with calls for help on Afghanistan exit Afghanistan fiasco proves we didn't leave soon enough Mike Lee holds commanding lead over GOP challengers in new Utah poll MORE (Utah), Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard PaulRand Paul: 'Hatred for Trump' blocking research into ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment Masks and vaccines: What price freedom? Kentucky hospitals reaching 'critical point': governor MORE (Ky.) Todd Young
Todd Christopher YoungHow to fix the semiconductor chip shortage (it's more than manufacturing) Senate Democrats try to defuse GOP budget drama The 19 GOP senators who voted for the T infrastructure bill MORE (Ind.) and Dean Heller
Dean Arthur HellerDemocrat Jacky Rosen becomes 22nd senator to back bipartisan infrastructure deal 9 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022 On The Trail: Democrats plan to hammer Trump on Social Security, Medicare MORE (Nev.) voted with most Democrats to advance it.
Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly
Joseph (Joe) Simon DonnellySanders traveling to Iowa, Indiana to pitch Biden's spending package Supreme Court battle could wreak havoc with Biden's 2020 agenda Republicans fret over divisive candidates MORE (Ind.), Claire McCaskill
Claire Conner McCaskillGiuliani to stump for Greitens in Missouri McCaskill shares new July 4 family tradition: Watching Capitol riot video Joe Manchin's secret MORE (Mo.), Bill Nelson
Clarence (Bill) William NelsonBiden to talk Russia, anti-corruption with Ukraine's president Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos wages lawfare on NASA and SpaceX Overnight Defense & National Security: US reports biggest day of Afghanistan airlifts MORE (Fla.), Joe Manchin
Joe ManchinProgressives push Senate Democrats to nix filibuster ahead of voting rights fight Progressives launch campaign to exclude gas from Congress's clean electricity program AFL-CIO chief warns of election consequences for pro-filibuster Democrats MORE (W.Va.) and Mark Warner
Mark Robert WarnerIndustry lobbies Congress to extend notification timeline after cybersecurity incidents PRO Act threatens Virginians' right to work Crypto debate set to return in force MORE (Va.) voted against moving the measure.
The motion faced an uphill climb in the Senate, despite growing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Yemen's civil war.
Top Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell: Biden 'is not going to be removed from office' Biden's Afghanistan exit: A decision for the long term Lobbying world MORE (R-Ky.), signaled ahead of the vote that they were opposed to the motion, arguing that reneging on the arms agreement would undercut a key U.S. ally.
“As we know, some have raised the issue of Saudi conduct of that war [in Yemen], but blocking this arms sale will diminish Saudi capability to target with precision. ... Part of the training provided to Saudi Arabia will be on subjects such as avoiding civilian casualties,” McConnell said.
He added that Saudi Arabia is involved in “two important struggles”: fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and countering Iran’s influence in the Middle East. Blocking the deal, McConnell said, would send the wrong signal.
Sens. Bob Corker
Robert (Bob) Phillips CorkerCheney set to be face of anti-Trump GOP How leaving Afghanistan cancels our post-9/11 use of force The unflappable Liz Cheney: Why Trump Republicans have struggled to crush her MORE (R-Tenn.) and John McCain
John Sidney McCain'The View' plans series of conservative women as temporary McCain replacements In Afghanistan, we've opened the gates of hell Photos of the Week: Afghanistan evacuees, Paralympics and the French fire MORE (R-Ariz.), the chairmen of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, respectively, also opposed blocking the deal, saying they had urged Saudi Arabia to improve its ability to avoid civilian casualties with its airstrikes.
"It's hard for me to understand why people would oppose the selling of precision guided missiles," Corker told reporters, stressing they help lower unintended casualties.
McCain said blocking the deal would be “crazy.”
“I've been putting pressure on them for years and years and years, and they have made some improvements. ... They’ve got a long way to go,” he told reporters in a recent interview.
But supporters of the motion argued that the vote was needed, even if it failed, to send a sign of growing frustration with Saudi Arabia.
"Saudi Arabia is causing a humanitarian crisis with a war in Yemen. It funds extremism worldwide. Abuses human rights. Stop arming them now," Paul tweeted on Tuesday.
The Kentucky Republican also spoke from the Senate floor next to a poster of a child he said died in Yemen's civil war.
The Guardian reported last year that one-third of Saudi bombings hit civilian sites in Yemen, though the Saudi government disputed the claim as "vastly exaggerated."
Paul and Sens. Chris Murphy
Christopher (Chris) Scott MurphySunday shows preview: Bombing in Kabul delivers blow to evacuation effort; US orders strikes on ISIS-K White House seeks to regain control on Afghanistan Press: Why is Mo Brooks still in the House? MORE (D-Conn.) and Al Franken
Alan (Al) Stuart FrankenAndrew Cuomo and the death of shame Could Andrew Cuomo — despite scandals — be re-elected because of Trump? Al Franken to launch 15-stop comedy tour MORE (D-Minn.) are using a frequently overlooked provision in the Arms Export Control Act that allows them to force a vote if the Senate Foreign Relations Committee doesn’t take up their motion within 10 days.
The senators want to block the proposed sale of equipment and weapons systems used by the Royal Saudi Air Force, according to their motion. Murphy previously told reporters that it would account for roughly $500 million of the entire $110 billion sale.
Murphy predicted ahead of the vote on the motion that it would be "very close" but sounded skeptical that they would be able to block the sale.
"We're going to get a handful of Republican votes and we're working on the last few Democrats," Murphy said.
Both Murphy and Paul pledged after Tuesday's vote to continue speaking out on Saudi Arabia, with Murphy warning that, without changes, "the votes will continue to head in the way they have since the fall."
"I think Americans are increasingly uncomfortable with the military escalation that both President Obama and President Trump have pursued within the Middle East," Murphy told reporters during a conference call.
But Paul declined to say if he and Murphy would try to block other parts of the arms sale, or other arms sales, noting they needed to talk and see if conditions within Yemen changed.
"I think also there needs to be a period of time to see if there is a change in Saudi warfare tactics," Paul told reporters during the call.
A previous attempt to block an arms sale last year fell short, garnering only 27 votes.
Supporters of the motion picked up new backers on their latest effort, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerProgressives launch campaign to exclude gas from Congress's clean electricity program The major emitter that's missing from climate negotiations Polluters would help foot the bill for conservation under Democratic spending proposal MORE (D-N.Y.), who announced this week he would support blocking part of the deal.
"The human rights and humanitarian concerns have been well documented and are important: of equal concern to me is that the Saudi government continues to aid and abet terrorism via its relationship with Wahhabism and the funding of schools that spread extremist propaganda throughout the world," Schumer said in a statement.
This report was updated at 3:37 p.m.
