Senate advances measure to end U.S. involvement in Yemen war


The Senate voted 63-37 on Wednesday to advance a bill that would end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen. Fourteen Republicans joined all 49 Democrats in supporting the measure.
The bill was proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). In March, the Senate rejected the same measure. The vote came after the Senate was briefed on Saudi involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; it was reported earlier this month that the CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder, but Defense Secretary James Mattis told senators there's "no smoking gun" implicating him.
The U.S. is giving Saudi Arabia weapons that they are using in their fight against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, is also experiencing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, airstrikes have hit weddings and school buses, and more than 85,000 children have died due to famine. Millions more are nearing starvation, and the country does not have ample medication or clean water.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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