In 2017, Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, introduced a measure known as the Yemeni Armed Forces Resolution. It was intended to curb US military support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, which created a humanitarian crisis in the country. At the time, there was very little support on Capitol Hill. Now it looks like the policy has been adopted by the White House.
In an interview with CNN, Khanna calls the move “a profound and historic shift” that marks a new chapter in US relations with Saudi Arabia.
“We are explicit and bold and open to the Saudis and say, ‘No, this is not a war we support,'” the congressman said. “Now I think President Biden has made a clear statement that the relationship was no longer what it once was.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who spoke out in favor of ending U.S. military intervention in Yemen, said in an interview that he believed the move would strengthen U.S. national security, especially if it made the region less volatile. make as a result.
“The battlefield has created openings for Al Qaeda and ISIS to grow. It was a mistake from the beginning that the US was involved in this war and I am glad that our participation is finally coming to an end,” he said. said .
Yemen is embroiled in a years-long civil war that backed a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a Shiite political and military organization from northern Yemen. The conflict cost thousands of civilian lives.
Democrats are optimistic that the Biden government will prioritize diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to end the conflict, suggesting that career diplomat Timothy Lenderking has been appointed special envoy for Yemen as a promising sign. However, there are still questions about exactly what the US will do next and how the government will implement the policy change, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle promise oversight.
“The details are important,” Khanna said regarding the Yemen policy change, noting that one of his concerns is that the Saudis will claim that future attacks are defensive and not offensive in an attempt to find a gap. . The term offensive strikes should refer to ‘any strikes in Yemen’, he said.
How Congress can oversee Yemen’s policies
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican in Utah who co-sponsored the Yemeni Armed Forces resolution in the Senate, said in an interview that he was “delighted” with the policy announcement, but added that if Congress passes a check on the executive should give over the conflict in the future, legislators could always push again to adopt a new version of the resolution.
“I’m very much looking forward to the Biden government providing some of these additional details to Congress on exactly what support they would consider defensive in nature that could remain possible,” Lee said. “What do they mean by that? I’m looking forward to learning more about it.”
“I plan to be fairly vigilant to make sure we do not end up selling weapons to the Saudis who will be used through a back door in the Yemeni conflict,” said Murphy, who was also a co-sponsor of the Yemeni . Warlord Resolution.
The senator said: ‘I hope Congress does not have to intervene here, but I have brought decisions under the last Democratic government to the floor to object to arms sales. My hope is that there will be no sales of ammunition. Congress to Saudi Arabia, because these are clearly offensive weapons used in Yemen. But if there is, I will be consistent. I’m not going to apply one standard to the Trump administration and another to the Biden government. . ”
Democratic Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, a co-sponsor of the Yemeni House resolution, told CNN that Congress can play a supervisory role in ensuring prompt action.
“It can be Democratic control with a Democratic president, but we must make sure that we continue to make sure that there really is a timeline and that there are actions that follow what the president has said, so that we suffer in Yemen. can end, ‘Pocan said, pointing to the oversight authorities of House and Senate committees as one way to hold the administration accountable.
Khanna plans to closely monitor the implementation of the new US policy and will continue to work with the United States to help the Yemenis recover from the damage they have done.
“We can not go to places, break them and then just abandon them. We have a moral responsibility to help build civilian life and society in Yemen, given the role we have played in supporting the Saudi. “The Saudis have the biggest responsibility, by far, but we also have a moral responsibility,” he said.
How the debate over the Yemen conflict – and war forces – has changed
Although the resolution of the Yemeni military was vetoed, lawmakers say the fact that it passed Congress sent a powerful signal and to some extent paved the way for the new policy change over the current conflict. government.
“Absolutely, I think congressional action sent a strong message to everyone who listened. Donald Trump clearly did not do that. Joe Biden did it,” Pocan said.
Lee believes the adoption of the resolution has helped show that there is a growing two-party coalition on Capitol Hill that supports the protection of the legislature’s constitutional role in authorizing war. The Republican in Utah hopes that this in turn may already bring about a shift in the way the US approaches war.
“We have entered too many wars in too many parts of the world and one of the things that has been facilitated is the fact that we have drifted away from the article of the Constitution. I focus on the need for Congress to declare war,” Lee said. . “It’s not a political party. We do not care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat in the White House. If they take us to war without the consent of Congress, it’s a problem.”
Khanna feels encouraged by what he sees as an emerging ‘left-right consensus’ that is skeptical of US foreign military intervention. “In terms of acknowledging that military interventionism has been detrimental to U.S. strategic interests, I think it’s something that has really grown in the U.S. Congress,” he said.
The congressman said that when he campaigned for a vote on the resolution of the Yemeni Armed Forces, “it was an uphill battle” and that the assassination of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, an event that provoked dual outrage has, a “turn was” point. ”
When Biden was elected president, Khanna was hopeful that he would act to draw US support for the Saudi-led offensive. But he does not know how soon this could happen. He is therefore reaching out to senior officials of the national security team to address the issue and strategize with the independent senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is campaigning for the resolution in the Senate.
“Senator Sanders and I were talking, ‘Should we reset the resolution of the armed forces? “We were worried about how fast they were going to act and how decisive they were going to act. “And they knew we were considering reinstating it,” he said.
Finally, Khanna said it was not necessary as Biden moved quickly to announce the policy change.
“It was a very significant moment to see it happen,” he said.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Ted Barrett, Jeremy Herb, Nima Elbagir contributed to this report.