“Our arms sales to Saudi Arabia demand congressional oversight. This bipartisan resolution simply asks the secretary of state to report on some basic questions before moving forward with them,” said Young. “The ongoing humanitarian crisis and complicated security environment in Yemen requires our sustained attention and we cannot permit U.S. military equipment to worsen the situation on the ground.”

The move, Politico noted, “runs parallel to an effort led by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to block 22 recent arms sales, an effort which is supported by both Murphy and Young.”

Those 22 resolutions, announced last Wednesday, followed outrage from both lawmakers and anti-war activists over the Trump administration using an emergency declaration loophole late last month to bypass congressional oversight and allow $8.1 billion in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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While humanitarian and anti-war groups have demanded an end to U.S. complicity in the Saudi-led coalition’s mass slaughter and starvation of Yemeni civilians for the past several years, the Trump administration’s relationship with the Saudi regime has faced heightened scrutiny since Washington Post contributor and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.

After the Khashoggi assassination—likely ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to American intelligence agencies—Congress passed an historic War Powers resolution to end U.S. support for the coalition’s assault on Yemen earlier this year. However, President Donald Trump vetoed the measure and the Senate failed to override his veto.

“This administration has effectively given a blank check to the Saudis—turning a blind eye to the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi and allowing their ballistic missile program to expand,” Murphy said Sunday. “Congress needs to change how we do business with the kingdom.”

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