Justin Amash Attacks Donald Trump For Supporting ‘Saudi Royals Against Congress’
Former Republican Justin Amash recently took to Twitter to criticize Donald Trump’s decision to veto resolutions to block his emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as The Inquisitr previously reported. He linked to a report by The Hill that covers Trump’s decision, which was purportedly made in the name of maintaining “America’s global competitiveness” and “the important relationships we share with our allies and partners.”
But Amash — who The Inquisitr reported has been critical of Trump’s relationship with the Saudis in the past — didn’t agree.
“The president again stands with Saudi royals against Congress,” he tweeted. “This brutal regime should not have our military support.”
If Congress wants to override Trump’s vetoes, they must gain a two-thirds majority, which The Hill reports is not expected to happen.
According to Trump, the United States is concerned about the innocent lives lost in Yemen’s civil war as a result of the Saudi-led coalition.
“But we cannot end it through ill-conceived and time-consuming resolutions that fail to address its root causes,” he wrote to Congress. “Rather than expend time and resources on such resolutions, I encourage the Congress to direct its efforts toward supporting our work to achieve peace through a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Yemen.”
BREAKING: President Trump vetoes three resolutions passed by Congress to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth more than $8 billion. pic.twitter.com/U1Vl3bCy9n
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) July 24, 2019
Trump reportedly wants to maintain ties with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, whom he believes is an important ally in the Middle East in general and, more specifically, against Iran. He also believes that the arms will generate jobs in the United States.
But many are critical of Trump’s move. Democrat Chris Murphy previously said that Trump’s use of emergency powers sets a bad precedent and suggests that the Middle East is in a permanent state of emergency, which means that Congress will never have a say in arms sales.
Amash is frequently critical of Trump’s decisions. Per The Inquisitr, he criticized the president on Twitter Tuesday for the two-year budget and debt ceiling that was reached with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
“More spending. More debt. More failure of representation. This ‘deal’ reflects our broken process,” he tweeted before criticizing the state of Congress, which he believes is dominated by partisan rhetoric that leads to a few leaders dictating the results for everyone else — regardless of how bad they are for America as a whole.
