House OKs measure to bar aid for Saudi's Yemen campaign

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House of Representatives approved an amendment to the annual defense spending bill Thursday to halt U.S. support for Saudi Arabia-led military operations in Yemen.

Momentum has been growing on Capitol Hill to end support for the military campaign, which has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in what was the Arab world's poorest nation even prior to the offensive.

It passed in a 240-185 vote with strong Democratic support but opposition from Republicans, who warned against curtailing President Donald Trump's ability to fight militant groups in the region.

"By continuing to conduct intelligence sharing, the U.S. has been a co-belligerent in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis," Congressman Ro Khanna, a vocal critic of the war in Yemen and key sponsor of the amendment, said in a statement.

"The U.S. cannot be an effective broker for peace if it continues to arm and militarily support one side of the conflict. This is how we democratize America’s foreign policy and reassert Congress’ role in matters of war and peace," he added.

The House is likely to vote Friday on a separate amendment offered by Khanna that would prohibit Trump from attacking Iran without prior congressional approval. It would not bar Trump from striking in retaliation for an Iranian attack, however.

The Senate approved its version of the defense spending bill last month without similar language on Iran and Yemen, setting up a likely conference session to remedy the differences after the House passes its version.