Congress invokes powers to challenge Trump on Yemen war
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday invoked never-before-used powers to demand that President Donald Trump’s administration withdraw support from the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Senate passed the same resolution in March with bipartisan support.
Trump is expected to issue a veto of the measure, his second as president, and Congress does not have the votes to override him. But the action was nonetheless a milestone for lawmakers, who have shown a renewed willingness to assert their war-making powers after letting them atrophy for decades under presidents from both parties.
Yemen was plunged into a civil war in September 2014, when rebels known as Houthis swept into the capital and overthrew the country’s internationally recognized government. The Saudi-led coalition began fighting the rebels, aiming to curb Iranian influence. In the years that have followed, Iran’s role in the conflict has grown.
