Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced measures expressing congressional opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed weapons sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and issued the following statement:

“There is no justification for the Trump administration’s decision to rush through the sale of thousands of bombs to Saudi Arabia—especially after last year’s sham ‘emergency’ sale of 60,000 munitions.  Yemen has already been described by the UN as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and that crisis is worsened when weapons sold by the United States are being used recklessly, costing the lives of civilians.  I strongly support the incoming Biden administration's pledge to conduct a thorough policy review,” said Chairman Meeks.

The joint resolutions of disapproval were co-sponsored by Representatives Gerald E. Connolly, Ted Deutch, Ted Lieu, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, and James P. McGovern.

Background

In the final days of 2020, the Trump administration moved forward on arms sales to Saudi Arabia that bypassed the informal congressional notification process designed to provide for oversight on arms sales.

The Trump administration notified Congress on December 22, 2020 of its intent to sell 7,500 Paveway IV laser-guided bomb kits to Saudi Arabia and  offshore American manufacturing jobs to Saudi Arabia.

The Trump administration also notified Congress on December 29, 2020 of its plan to sell 3,000 small diameter bombs to Saudi Arabia. 

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