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The Senate voted Thursday to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen in a rebuke to Saudi Arabia, a long-time U.S. ally.
The resolution was passed in the chamber 56-41.
The bill was co-sponsored by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, gaining renewed momentum following Saudi Arabia's murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his top officials have denied Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman role in Khashoggi's killing, despite bipartisan demands on Capitol Hill he be held responsible.
The co-sponsors had been working on the resolution for the past year, with only 44 senators voting in favor of the bill in March. In November, 60 lawmakers voted to advance the debate of the bill in the Senate.
The resolution faced stiff opposition from top Republicans including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said it went too far and advised lawmakers to not "pick a fight" with the executive branch, however, ending up passing with a simple majority.
Yemen's Houthis have agreed in principle on a United Nation's role in Sanaa airport, a spokesman for the armed movement said in Sweden on Thursday.The Houthis are happy with what was achieved in the consultations, said the spokesman, speaking after U.N. sponsored peace talks with Yemen's internationally recognised government.A U.N. role would include carrying out safety and inspection checks at the airport. UN chief says Yemen's fighting forces to withdraw from HodeidahSaudi ambassador to Yemen says UN agreement requires Houthi withdrawal from Hodeidah
Yemen's Houthis agree in principle to UN role at Sanaa airport
Senators also passed an amendment to the resolution prohibiting the refueling of non-U.S. aircrafts in the Yemen war.
The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has devastated the country's infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe it as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.
"The U.S. will no longer participate in the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen which has caused the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth," Sanders said on the Senate floor Thursday. "Today we tell the despotic regime in Saudi Arabia that we will not be part of their military adventurism."
The bill needs to pass the Senate and the House of Representatives to make its way to the President Donald Trump's desk where it is unlikely to be signed into law.
The Trump administration has sought to maintain support for the war, arguing it serves as a means to curb Iranian influence in the region.
"It would encourage the Houthis. It would encourage the Iranians. It would undermine the fragile agreement for everyone to go to Sweden and have this discussion," Pompeo said to reporters last month after briefing the Senate.
While serving as a victory for many in the Senate, the bill is unlikely to be taken up in the House due to a provision passed in the chamber on Wednesday.
The vote came after the UN Secretary General announced warring sides in the war agreed to a cease-fire and withdrawal from the port city of Al-Hudaydah during UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that all fighting forces will be withdrawn from Yemen's port city of Hodeidah and that control will pass to local forces, with the U.N. playing a leading role at the port.There has not been agreement on a ceasefire in the rest of Yemen beyond Hodeidah, he told reporters after peace talks in Sweden. An agreement on Sanaa airport was expected within a week, he said.Saudi ambassador to Yemen says UN agreement requires Houthi withdrawal from HodeidahUAE minister welcomes ceasefire agreement for Yemen's Hodeidah
UN chief says Yemen's fighting forces to withdraw from Hodeidah
U.S. senators voted Thursday to pass a resolution condemning the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and holding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the heinous act.The resolution was introduced by foreign relations committee chairman Bob Corker. The resolution was adopted by voice vote.It is the second resolution to pass the chamber Thursday following an earlier approval to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.That resolution is largely seen as a rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump who is seeking to minimize fallout from Khashoggi's killing on the U.S.-Saudi relationship, insisting bin Salman had no role in the murder.Corker's resolution offers a reproach to the stance taken by Trump who, despite reports that American intelligence concluded the crown prince's role in the killing, has maintained warm relations with the kingdom and its de-facto leader.US seeks compensation from Saudi for refueling servicesUnlike the Yemen resolution, Corker's bill did not face stiff resistance from Senate leadership which sought to stave off prospects of a clash with the White House over the legislative response to Khashoggi's murder.Saudi Arabia initially denied any role in Khashoggi's disappearance when he went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 2.After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged he was killed inside the diplomatic building, blaming the act on a botched rendition operation.That explanation has been met with major skepticism from many on Capitol Hill who insist that U.S. intelligence, that they have been privy to, indicates a strong role for bin Salman.
US Senate condemns crown prince for Khashoggi killing