Demand Progress Praises Senate Vote To Pass War Powers Resolution, Confront Trump-Saudi Impunity

The United States Senate just passed, on a 63-37 bipartisan vote, a War Powers Resolution--led by Republican Mike Lee (R-UT) and Independent Bernie Sanders (I-VT)--that could compel an end to the Trump administration's support for Saudi Arabia's ongoing war on Yemen.

Demand Progress has helped lead a coalition of more than a dozen organizations in support of an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen at www.StopTheWar.us, through which activists have sent over 200,000 messages to Congress this year and placed approximately 20,000 phone calls.

Demand Progress and the coalition released this video in conjunction with actor Mark Ruffalo about the military action in Yemen earlier this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaQewDoipQQ

The following statement can be attributed to Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal:

"There is no moral or legal justification for the continued involvement of the United States in the catastrophic Saudi war against the people of Yemen, which has put 14 million at risk of starvation. Today's vote is an unprecedented rebuke to the Trump administration and the Saudi dictatorship -- and a powerful assertion of Congress's authority over the right to declare war.

"Demand Progress will continue to work with members of both parties and to mobilize hundreds of thousands across the country to help bring an end to the human tragedy unfolding on a historical scale in Yemen."

MORE ON THE STATUS OF THE MILITARY ACTION IN YEMEN:

On the order of 14 million people in Yemen are at risk of starvation -- representing the worst current humanitarian crisis in the world, and the potential for the worst famine in the world in more than a century. (Here is a joint statement by several international aid organizations describing the dire situation.)

The United States is providing material support for Saudi Arabia's war against Yemen, including through mid-air refueling assistance for bombing runs and other logistical support -- even though Congress has never authorized military involvement in the conflict, as is required under the U.S. Constitution.

The Senate voted on a similar resolution in the spring, but a motion to table it succeeded on a 55-44 vote.

Increased recent attention to the war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen -- as well as evidence that the war's main prosecutor, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi likely contributed to the sharp shift in support.