Senate vote likely to fail
The vote which begins at 5:30 in the evening is expected to fall short of the 67 votes needed to successfully override the president’s veto. The resolutions passed only with 51 and 53 votes. Trump vetoed the three resolution back on last Wednesday.
Trump claimed: “This resolution would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners.” A recent article notes: “Onur Erim, president of Dragoman Strategies, a Turkish think tank, told The Media Line that President Trump has “ignored the US legislative branch and dismissed gross human rights violations by Saudi Arabia… giving more and more encouragement to tyrants around the world.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was responding to an emergency caused by Saudi Arabia’s foe, Iran.
Trump has used his veto power before
The three resolutions mark the 3rd, 4th, and 5th time Trump used his veto this year. He also vetoed a resolution earlier that would have forced him to withdraw troops from Yemen except those fighting Al Qaeda.
The arms sales
The 22 arms sales estimated to have a value of $8 billion would not only provide weapons to Saudi Arabia, but the UAE and Jordan as well. Trump used an emergency provision of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) to get around the 30-day notification to legislators about a pending sale. However under the AECA lawmakers can block the sale with only a simple majority instead of the 60 votes normally required. However, a two-thirds majority is needed in both chambers to override the president’s veto.
The Senate ban vote
A recent article reports on the Senate vote: “The Senate voted 53-45 on resolutions to block two of the sales, with GOP Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kansas), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Todd Young (Ind.) joining Democrats. They voted 51-45 to block the additional 20 arms sales. Murkwoski flipped to vote for the sale, while Lee did not vote.” It seems unlikely that enough Republicans will vote to override the veto for the vote to be successful.
