US Sen. Bob Menendez began the formal process of blocking President Donald Trump’s plan to proceed with the sale of more than $ 8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates without congressional approval.
In a speech to the Senate, Menendez asked the council to immediately consider a decision not to approve the plan to sell precision guided munitions, produced by Raytheon, to Saudi Arabia.
This was the first of about 22 similar decisions to object to military sales, put forward by Democratic and Republican senators last month, after the Trump administration announced a “state of emergency” to avoid reviewing Congress and concluding arms deals.
The lawmakers are negotiating an agreement on how and when the Senate will vote.
Consultants said in the absence of consensus each of the 22 resolutions will require 10 hours of discussions
“Saudi Arabia had used precision guided munitions “to kill an unknown number of innocent civilians in its current campaign in Yemen” Menendez said.
Supporters for the decision say many of them have bipartisan support and will get approval in the Senate and House of Representatives, despite the simple majority of Republicans in the Senate.
