US Senate rebukes Trump, Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi murder, Yemen war

WASHINGTON - AP

The U.S. Senate has delivered back-to-back votes against Saudi Arabia in an unusual rebuke of President Donald Trump’s response to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The resolutions are largely symbolic but signal new skepticism from Capitol Hill toward the longtime Middle East ally.

One measure recommends that the U.S. end its assistance to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen. The other puts the blame for the death of Khashoggi squarely on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Both had been vigorously opposed by the Trump administration.

The bipartisan votes came two months after the Saudi journalist’s slaying at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and after Trump persistently equivocated over who was responsible. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that bin Salman must have at least known of the plot.