A bipartisan group of senators voted to discharge a war powers resolution on Wednesday after a failed attempt by the Trump administration to block the vote. For the first time, the Senate will debate and vote to pass the War Powers Resolution, which will end the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
In a 63-37 vote, all democratic senators, one independent senator and 14 republican senators were in favor of discharging the resolution. Now the Senate will debate the issue as soon as next week.
I’ve been at this for 3 years, and I am blown away by this.
By a big bipartisan margin, 63-37, the Senate just voted, for the first time, to move forward with a debate on ending American involvement in the Yemen war.
Thanks to @SenMikeLee @SenSanders for their partnership.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 28, 2018
In what is being called a “bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s ongoing policies supporting Saudi Arabia at all costs,” the Senate will now have the chance to pass the resolution and “establish a new global policy in the U.S. to keep the United States accountable for the powers we hold on the world stage,” MoveOn, a grassroots organization, reported.
Those who voted to block my resolution on ending U.S. involvement in Yemen received an average of $48,047 from the defense industry.
Those who voted against received an average of $27,505.
This is how campaign finance reform is linked to foreign policy. https://t.co/y82hbCawag
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) November 28, 2018
According to MoveOn, the new “progressive” global policy should include:
- A policy that prioritizes people, not corporate profits.
- A policy that is focused on diplomacy, not war.
- A policy focused on humanitarian relief, not weapons sales to countries with horrific human rights abuses.
- A policy focused on the freedom of mobilization for those seeking asylum and safety, not racist bans or border walls.
- A policy focused on world cooperation and working toward global solutions to global problems like climate change, not isolationism.
- A policy focused on reallocating the bloated Pentagon budget toward domestic needs like health care or free college, not wasting trillions more on endless wars.
While the Senate made history on Wednesday, the War Powers Resolution will now be debated on the Senate floor before a second vote and push for the House to take up the resolution in the coming months.
“For too long, our global policies have been based around the interests of weapons manufacturers, detrimental alliances with those who are committing human rights abuses, and xenophobia and anti-Muslim racism that scapegoats some of the most vulnerable communities in the country,” MoveOn said.
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