{"id":58982,"date":"2019-05-23T18:47:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T18:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/23\/trump-may-bypass-congress-to-sell-bombs-to-saudi-senators-warn\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:26:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:26:22","slug":"trump-may-bypass-congress-to-sell-bombs-to-saudi-senators-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/05\/23\/trump-may-bypass-congress-to-sell-bombs-to-saudi-senators-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump may bypass Congress to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia, senators warn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are warning that President Donald Trump may seek to go around Congress and sell American bombs to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration, according to Sens. Bob Menendez<\/a> and Chris Murphy, is expected to claim an emergency under the Arms Control Act, which would prevent the Senate from taking a vote of disapproval on the sale. For a year, Menendez has used the Senate\u2019s long-standing informal review process to hold up such a sale, citing civilian casualties caused by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Menendez released a statement Thursday that contained a warning to the American defense industry<\/a>, for which Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been lucrative markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am deeply concerned about the rumors that the Administration plans to bypass Congress and sell weapons to foreign governments, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, one of the worst human rights abusers in the world,\u201d said Menendez of New Jersey. \u201cThe possible consequences of this will ultimately jeopardize the ability of the U.S. defense industry to export arms in a manner both expeditious and responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to suffering the reputational problems of delivering deadly weapons to governments that clearly misuse them, U.S. defense firms should exercise extreme caution that they are not opening themselves, their officers, and their employees to criminal and civil liability by exporting weapons pursuant to potentially invalid licenses.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t