The Hill reports Wednesday: “Congress is poised to face off with President Trump for a second time over his administration’s policy toward Saudi Arabia, as lawmaker groups in both chambers reintroduce resolutions to end U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war.

“Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), along with Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna (Calif.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.), on Wednesday introduced updated versions of their Yemen war powers resolutions, renewing a battle they first fought with Trump in the previous Congress. [See the video on Facebook and YouTube.]

“‘Today we are coming together to address one of the great humanitarian crises facing the planet and also in a historical way to make certain that that United States Congress reasserts its constitutional responsibilities in terms of war making,’ Sanders said at a press conference Wednesday. ‘The United States should not be supporting a catastrophic war led by a despotic Saudi regime with a dangerous and irresponsible military policy.’ …

“The Senate voted 56-41 in December to pass a resolution from Sanders, Murphy and Lee that would withdraw U.S. forces in or ‘affecting’ Yemen, except troops fighting al Qaeda and associated forces.

“It was the first time a chamber of Congress voted in favor of a war powers resolution since the War Powers Act was passed in 1973.

“But the Republican-controlled House last year blocked Yemen war powers resolutions from coming to the floor for a vote. With Democrats now in the majority, Khanna’s office said it expects the resolution to come to the House floor next month.

“‘This will be the first time in the history of this country since 1973 that we will successfully pass a war powers resolution through the Senate and through the House,’ Khanna said.” [See House resolution and Senate resolution.]

SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI, 1shireen at gmail.com, @shireen818
Originally from Yemen, Al-Adeimi is an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University. Her recent pieces include for NBC News: “Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance has accomplished what 50,000 Yemeni deaths could not.”

See also her pieces for In These Times magazine, including: “’Our Present Is a Nightmare’: 100 Yemenis Speak Out Against the U.S.-Saudi War,” “Attack on Yemen Port Shows U.S.-Backed Coalition Willing To Use Starvation as a Weapon” and “What the Deployment of Green Berets to the Saudi-Yemen Border Tells Us About America’s Dirty War.”

Also on Wednesday, Ro Khanna had an op-ed published in the Washington Post: “Why I strongly oppose U.S. intervention in Venezuela.”  He writes: “Congress must also make it clear to the Trump administration that military action in Venezuela requires congressional authorization. If Trump does take military action without congressional authorization, I am prepared to invoke the War Powers Act to remove our troops from the conflict as I have done in the case of Yemen.” He also tweeted recently: “Let me get this straight. The U.S. is sanctioning Venezuela for their lack of democracy but not Saudi Arabia? …”