Republicans block resolution to end Trump support for Saudis in Yemen war that has starved 13 million

The UN says death toll could soar to 233,000 by the end of 2019

Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a resolution to end US support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen War, which has starved 13 million people.

The resolution would have overturned president Donald Trump’s veto of legislation to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Seven Republicans joined all Senate Democrats to support the resolution on Thursday, securing a 53-45 vote, but overriding presidential vetoes required a two-thirds majority – 67 votes.

Democratic senator Michael Bennet and Republican Marco Rubio did not vote. All other Republicans voted against the resolution.

The resolution, an unprecedented rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy, required the president to withdraw any troops in or supporting Yemen within 30 days unless they were fighting al-Qaeda.

The US has been providing Saudi Arabia with logistical support and intelligence sharing during the brutal four-year war, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and left millions on the brink of famine.

According to recent UN estimates, the death toll could soar to 233,000 by the end of 2019, with 60 per cent of the casualties being children under the age of five.

Congress initially passed the resolution claiming never-before-used powers in the War Powers Act, in an unprecedented rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy.

Trump vetoed the resolution in April, calling it an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken his constitutional authority. It was only the second veto of Trump’s presidency.

The first happened in March this year. Congress voted to end the national emergency declared by Trump to build a border wall in the south. Trump vetoed the resolution, and the House of Representatives failed to override it.

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders, one of the sponsors of the resolution to end US support to the Saudi-led war, said it still showed that “after years of abdicating that responsibility, congress stood up in the Senate and in the House and said: You know what, Mr President, you do not have the power to get US troops involved in a war that we did not vote upon. And that is a big deal.”

Opponents of the resolution argued that it was not an appropriate use of the War Powers Act, because the military provided support such as targeting assistance to the Saudi-UAE coalition, not troops.

The Pentagon said continued support of the coalition was in the US interest because it helped American allies push back against Iranian aggression in the region.

The push to end American involvement in the war gained strength in congress last year after Saudi agents killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a commentator who had lived in the US and written critically about the kingdom.

With the veto remaining intact, lawmakers said they were already looking for other ways to adjust relations with the Saudis.

“Like many of us here today, I’m dissatisfied with the state of the US-Saudi relationship,” said Republican Senator Jim Risch, who voted against overriding Trump’s veto. “Frankly, aspects of Saudi Arabia’s behaviour are cause for serious, serious concern.”

Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war started in 2015, when the kingdom and its Gulf partners launched a bombing campaign after Iran-backed Houthi rebels ousted the country’s president in a civil war.

Amid anger over the civilian toll of the Yemen conflict, the Trump administration stopped providing refuelling support for Saudi aircraft in Yemen last year.