Top Republican In Congress Is Willing To Cut Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia

US President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Riyadh May 20, 2017. © Mandel Ngan / AFP

Defense News: Top GOP appropriator signals willingness to cut arms sales to Saudi Arabia

SIMI VALLEY, California — In light of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and ongoing humanitarian concerns with the situation in Yemen, members of Congress have expressed unprecedented concern about continuing to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Now, the newly announced top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee has thrown her weight behind the option to end the long-standing arms relationship with Riyadh.

Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, said that while Congress was still gathering information, “if we have the full picture on [Khashoggi], I would say no, we should not sell.”

Granger’s comments could be a signal for how badly the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Congress have soured in the last year, as a result of the situation in Yemen and the fallout from the Khashoggi situation. Granger is a vocal proponent of the benefits of selling weapons abroad and represents a district heavy with Lockheed Martin presence.

As the newly announced top Republican on the appropriations committee, Granger would have an outsized ability to influence funding for Saudi military activities.

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Update: Will Congress really cancel US-Saudi arms deals? It’s complicated, but let us explain (Joe Gould, Defense News)

WNU Editor: Most Democrats are not going to object.