On Tuesday the Senate passed President Trump’s sale of half a billion dollars in precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, according to Western Journalism.
An effort by a mostly-Democratic group of senators to block President Donald Trump’s arms deal with Saudi Arabia fell short on a vote Tuesday.
Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. and Rand Paul, R-Ky. introduced a resolution in May to block Trump’s plan to sell $510 million worth of precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.
The deal made up a small portion of the $110 billion deal Trump made with Saudia Arabia during his visit to the nation in May.
Senators failed to advance the measure Tuesday in a 47-53 vote that fell mostly along party lines, allowing Trump’s arms deal to move forward unimpeded.
Republican Sens. Mike Lee, Utah, Rand Paul, Ky., Todd Young, Ind. and Dean Heller, Nev., joined ranks with most Democrats to block the deal.
But Trump received a rare dose support from the other side of the political aisle, with Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly, Ind., Claire McCaskill, Mo., Bill Nelson, Fla., Joe Manchin, W.Va. and Mark Warner, Va., voting to allow his deal to move forward.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said before the vote that preventing the arms deal from moving forward would be detrimental to the interests of the U.S.
“As we know, some have raised the issue of Saudi conduct of that war, but blocking this arms sale will diminish Saudi capability to target with precision,” McConnell said. “Part of the training provided to Saudi Arabia will be on subjects such as avoiding civilian casualties,” he added.
Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he couldn’t wrap his head around why people would oppose the arms deal.
“This is something — it’s hard for me to understand why people would oppose the selling of precision guided missiles,” Corker told reporters, stressing the fact that precision missiles help lower unintended casualties.
