House Votes to Halt Aid to Saudi War in Yemen

248-177

“The House voted on Wednesday to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, a defiant and rare move to curtail presidential war powers that underscored anger with President Trump’s unflagging support for Saudi Arabia even after the killing of a Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi,” the New York Times reports. “The 248-177 vote, condemning a nearly four-year conflict in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians and inflicted a devastating famine, will pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to respond.”

Saudi Lobbyists Paid for 500 Rooms at Trump Hotel, Duped Veterans

500

“Lobbyists representing the Saudi government reserved blocks of rooms at President Trump’s D.C. hotel within a month of Trump’s election in 2016 — paying for an estimated 500 nights at the luxury hotel in just three months,” the Washington Post reports. “The visits were part of an unorthodox campaign that offered veterans a free trip to D.C.– then sent them to Capitol Hill to lobby against a law the Saudis opposed.”

Trump’s D.C. Hotel Received $270k from Saudis

$270,000

President Trump’s Washington hotel “received roughly $270,000 in payments linked to Saudi Arabia as part of a lobbying campaign by the Gulf kingdom against a controversial piece of terrorism legislation last year,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The payments—for catering, lodging and parking—were disclosed by the public relations firm MSLGroup last week in paperwork filed with the Justice Department documenting foreign lobbying work on behalf of Saudi Arabia and other clients.”