Trump Bypasses Congress Over Saudi Arms, Sparking Lawmakers' Ire - Bloomberg:
The Trump administration is bypassing Congress to approve the sale of more than $2 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia, citing a rarely used provision in the Arms Export Control Act despite bipartisan objections by lawmakers.
The provision lets President Donald Trump circumvent the normal process for congressional approval by declaring an emergency that requires the sales to go through immediately “in the national security interests of the United States.” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo cited the threat from Iran as justification, but said in a later statement that he viewed the decision “to be a one-time event.” Lawmakers were upset regardless.
“I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Trump administration has failed once again to prioritize our long term national security interests or stand up for human rights, and instead is granting favors to authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia,” Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement Friday.
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