Washington, February 14
The US House has voted overwhelmingly to end American involvement in Saudi Arabia's war effort in neighbouring Yemen, dealing a rebuke to President Donald Trump and his alliance with Riyadh.
The chamber voted 248 to 177 to approve historic legislation that would direct the President within 30 days to “remove United States armed forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen,” where a years-old conflict has killed thousands of civilians.
Eighteen Republicans joined all voting Democrats in supporting the measure, a striking curtailment of presidential war powers. The vote puts pressure on the Senate to act. The Senate easily passed a similar measure late last year condemning the administration's defense of the Saudi kingdom, but it died as the last Congress ended with the then Republican-controlled House not bringing it to a vote.
Today the House is under Democratic control, and the measure moved swiftly on the floor.
“With my resolution passing the House, we are closer than ever to ending our complicity in this humanitarian catastrophe,” House Democrat Ro Khanna, said on Twitter. “The Senate must quickly pass this resolution and finally reassert Congress’ constitutional authority,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. — AFP
Prez ex-campaign chief ‘lied’ to prosecutors
US President Donald Trump's former election campaign chairman Paul Manafort breached his plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller by “intentionally” lying to prosecutors in the Russia probe, a federal judge has ruled. Manafort “made multiple false statements to the FBI and special counsel, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said.
Ignores $5.7-bn border wall funding request
The Congress on Thursday aimed to end a dispute over border security with legislation that would ignore Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. Late on Wednesday, negotiators put the finishing touches on legislation to fund a range of other federal agencies through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. “This agreement denies funding for President Trump's border wall,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey said.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2BCR0up
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