'The excuse that this is somehow an emergency is just flat out false, and they know it.' Trump administration bypasses Congress with $7 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, sparking bipartisan outrage:
The Trump administration on Friday said it would sell $8 billion-worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with getting congressional approval, citing Iran as an urgent threat.
The State Department authorizes the sale of weapons to foreign countries, but Congress has the authority to block a given sale by a vote within 30 days of being notified by the administration. In 2017, the Senate came within four votes of blocking a $510 million sale of munitions to Saudi Arabia, which is fighting alongside the Yemeni government, UAE, and an Arab coalition against Houthi rebels, who are increasingly supported by Iran.
In the face of that, however, the Trump administration is now invoking an emergency clause in the Arms Export Control Act to move ahead with these sales. The 22 separate sales include precision-guided munitions, mortars, anti-tank missiles, and equipment and spare parts, including fighter jet engines, according to documents that the State Department provided to Congress and ABC News obtained.
"Current threat reporting indicates Iran engages in preparations for further malign activities throughout the Middle East region, including potential targeting of U.S. and allied military forces in the region," he wrote."The rapidly-evolving security situation in the region requires an accelerated delivery of certain capabilities to U.S. partners in the region."
"There hasn't been a problem with [defensive weapons], and that's demonstrable. What they're doing here, however, is they're wanting to sell immediately – without Congressional oversight, review, or possibility of a vote -- offensive weapons that have always been represented to us as being available to be used and have been used in Yemen," the aide said.
But the law allows for the emergency clause to be invoked in certain circumstances, including in some cases only for Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, New Zealand, and NATO allies, so particular sales may not be allowed for others like Saudi Arabia and UAE.
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