White House advisers recommend Trump veto Yemen resolution

The White House on Wednesday formally indicated that President Trump would veto a joint resolution calling for an end to U.S. support of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen ahead of a key Senate vote on the measure.

{mosads}The Office of Management and Budget released a formal statement of administration policy that called the resolution “flawed” and suggested it could undermine the president’s role as commander in chief. Advisers would suggest Trump veto the measure, the statement said.

“In addition to its erroneous premise, the joint resolution would harm bilateral relationships in the
region, negatively affect our ability to prevent the spread of violent extremist organizations … and establish bad precedent for future legislation by defining ‘hostilities’ to include defense cooperation such as aerial refueling for the purposes of this legislation,” the White House statement said.

OMB Statement of Administration Policy *Update*:

S.J. Res. 7, Directing the President to Remove United States Armed Forces from Hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that Have Not Been Authorized by Congress.

→ https://t.co/stSWbWcigo pic.twitter.com/Sd8BPdiWpI

— OMB Press (@OMBPress) March 13, 2019

The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on the resolution, which will call on Trump to withdraw any troops in or affecting Yemen within 30 days unless they are fighting al Qaeda. 

The resolution would need only a simple majority to pass the Senate, and would then need to pass the House before heading to Trump’s desk.

Should Trump veto the measure, the Senate is extremely unlikely to have the votes to override it.

The Senate passed a similar measure in December by a vote of 56-41 during the previous session of Congress. The White House also said ahead of that vote that it would encourage Trump to veto the resolution.

Lawmakers have pushed back against the administration on Saudi Arabia in the wake of last October’s killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump has yet to issue a veto during his presidency. In addition to the Yemen resolution, he has indicated he will veto a resolution to terminate his national emergency declaration at the southern border should it pass the Senate on Thursday.