Lawmakers demand end to Saudi arms sales after Khashoggi death
by Pete Kasperowicz
| October 24, 2018 07:20 AM
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers have introduced legislation that would immediately end all military sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, in the wake of dissident Jamal Khashoggi's death at the hands of Saudi agents.
Pressure has been growing on the Trump administration to penalize the Saudi government for the murder of Khashoggi and attempts to cover it up. The bill from Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., which is sponsored by three House Republicans, would do just that.
"It is now clear that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Consulate," McGovern said in a statement Tuesday. "The use of a diplomatic post as a torture chamber is an affront not only to international norms, but to basic human decency."
"With the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it's time for the United States to halt all weapons sales and military aid to Saudi Arabia," he said. "Our democratic values are on the line here – and we need to step up as a country and do the right thing."
The House won't have a chance to act on McGovern's bill until after the midterm election, and it's not clear House Republicans will decide to advance it.
But the presence of three Republicans on the bill is a sign it could be discussed, depending on how the Trump administration decides to handle the matter.
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