Kaine Statement On Vote To Move Yemen War Powers Resolution To Senate Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after the Senate voted 63-37 to move the resolution to cease U.S. support for the war in Yemen to the Senate floor:

“We sent an important message today – that Congress will stand up to Saudi leadership when the Trump Administration won’t, and that Saudi Arabia will face consequences for the murder of Virginia resident Jamal Khashoggi as well as for the disastrous war in Yemen. We must cease support for this war – never authorized by Congress – that has taken thousands of lives and finally demand accountability for the Saudi regime’s continued human rights abuses. We are not a country that will turn a blind eye to the state-sponsored murder of a journalist and let authoritarian regimes get away with whatever they want with impunity.”

On Monday, Kaine called on his colleagues to vote for the bipartisan joint resolution, which he is a co-sponsor of, to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen. The resolution was introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).  Kaine has been outspoken against the Saudi-sponsored murder of Virginia resident Jamal Khashoggi and has called to cease arms sales to Saudi Arabia until there is real accountability for Khashoggi’s death and dramatic improvement in the nation’s treatment of journalists and political dissidents.

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