Littwin: Senate GOP Stands Up To Trump, But Not Cory Gardner

ACROSS COLORADO – By Mike Littwin for The Colorado Independent. This just in: The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate actually stood up to Donald Trump on America’s role in the catastrophic, Saudi-led fighting in Yemen.

Yes, I’m shocked, too. Yes, it was a preliminary vote that could lead nowhere. Yes, the vote happened only because certain senators felt that Trump had lied to them (just the way, you know, he has lied to everyone else).

But still.

In a 63-37 vote, 14 Republicans stood with 49 Democrats to pass a resolution that could force Trump to end assistance to the Saudi-based coalition fighting in Yemen. Many tens of thousands have died in the fight. Millions are said to be starving. According to the charity Save the Children, 85,000 children under the age of 5 have already died from starvation.

The successful vote, which needed 60 in support, is a first step. There are lots of steps to go. But the Senate invoked the seldom-used War Powers Act to get this far. There will be another vote next week. There will be amendments. There will be a full-throated effort by the Trump administration to upend the resolution, which came, in part, after CIA Director Gina Haspel failed to join Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis for a classified briefing of Senate Republicans.

Why didn’t Haspel come to explain what she knows about the situation and particularly what she knows about the death of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi? The White House claims it played no role in her decision not to appear.

As Trump might say, maybe it did, maybe it didn’t.

Lindsey Graham, of late a Trump lackey, was clear in his opinion. He pledged not to take “any key vote” in the late stages of the Senate session until Haspel briefs lawmakers. Graham added: “I am not going to blow past this. Anything that you need me for to get out of town — I ain’t doing it until we hear from the CIA.”

So, this is clearly a rebuke of Saudi Arabia for its role — confirmed by the CIA — in the death of Khashoggi and clearly a rebuke of Donald Trump for his refusal to do anything to punish Saudi Arabia and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) for their part in Khashoggi’s death and the dismemberment of his body.

READ MORE in The Colorado Independent

Image: Sen. Cory Gardner addressing a town hall at Colorado Christian University, August 2017