Congress struggles to sanction Saudis for Khashoggi murder
Faced with opposition from the White House and Senate Republican leadership, Congress is struggling to pass Saudi sanctions legislation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-9 today to advance legislation intended to sanction Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials complicit in last year’s assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And although Democrats gained enough Republican support to advance the bill, it may be a pyrrhic victory.
President Donald Trump has resisted bipartisan calls to punish Prince Mohammed for his alleged role in Khashoggi’s murder, going so far as to avoid implementing a legally mandated probe into the crown prince’s role in the assassination. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is unlikely to allow a floor vote on legislation that the president would ultimately veto.
“I don’t think any of those are going to the floor,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch, R-Idaho, told Al-Monitor. “They’re all going to get vetoed, and McConnell does not run bills that are going to get vetoed.”
Three Trump allies — Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Todd Young, R-Ind. — joined Democrats to advance the bill, introduced by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the committee’s top Democrat. In the process, the three senators bucked Risch, who had unsuccessfully sought to advance a rival bill that had buy-in from the White House.
