WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, voted in support of Senate Joint Resolution 54, directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from the ongoing civil war between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen pursuant to the 1973 War Powers Resolution. This is the first time a chamber of Congress has ever voted to invoke the War Powers Resolution. This resolution, which passed by a vote of 56-41, would not impact important U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen. The civil war, which is between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen, has led to mass civilian casualties, and reports indicate that as many as 85,000 children may have died of starvation in Yemen since the war began.

“The civil war in Yemen is a complex civil conflict between Saudi and Iranian backed factions, but one thing is clear: the violence has had an immense and devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians, particularly children. It has killed thousands and has left millions on the brink of starvation,” said Senator King. “This is a humanitarian disaster and the United States should no longer be complicit. That’s why I’ve voted to end our limited support for the Saudi-led coalition, and why I continue to urge all parties to seek a diplomatic solution to end this bloodshed that is hurting so many innocent people.”   

Senator King voted to advance SJ Res 54 in November, and had previously voted to advance SJ Res 54 in March, when the resolution was tabled by a vote of 55-44. The resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from the conflict in Yemen does not apply to ongoing American counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen, and would allow U.S. forces conducting counter-terrorism operations against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to continue their work. The resolution now heads to the House of Representatives for its consideration; however, due to a last-minute procedural maneuver by the House Rules Committee, a development Senator King called “deeply regrettable”, the resolution is no longer considered “privileged” in the House and is unlikely to receive a vote before the beginning of the next Congress.

Today the Senate also passed a resolution introduced by Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) that includes the Senate’s belief that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and demands all parties seek an immediate cease fire and negotiated political solution to the Yemen conflict. The resolution was passed by voice vote.