Florida Republican Ted Yoho is leading the charge on Capitol Hill to delay--and possibly halt--the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Yoho noted on Wednesday that he was against the State Department’s planned $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
The North Florida Republican pointed to Saudi activities in Yemen as to why he was against the arms sale. The Saudis are currently battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen.
“In light of civilian deaths in the war-torn country of Yemen, I am leading a bipartisan letter to the Obama administration asking them to hold off on proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia until Congress is given time to debate the necessity of these new weapon sales,” Yoho announced on Wednesday.
Yoho, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, joined South Carolina Republican Mick Mulvaney, California Democrat Ted Lieu and Michigan Democrat John Conyers in sending a letter to President Barack Obama urging the administration to stop the sale.
The Hill reports Yoho and the other three congressmen have already rounded up 20 signers.
“Amnesty International has documented at least 33 unlawful airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition across Yemen that appear to have deliberately targeted civilians and civilian facilities, such as hospitals, schools, markets, and places of worship,” the congressmen wrote in the draft of the letter obtained by The Hill. “These attacks may amount to war crimes.
“We are not aware of any compelling reason why congressional approval of the sale could not be postponed to allow for meaningful congressional debate on this issue that has major implications for both civilians in Yemen as well as our national security,” the congressmen added. “We urge you to delay this proposed arms deal so that the people's representatives in Congress can give these issues the full deliberation that they deserve."
