Menendez Op-Ed: Pompeo is Trying to do Another Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia and Congress Must Stop Him

“Last year’s ‘emergency’ arms sales debacle should serve as a warning to prevent history from repeating itself.”

NEWARK – In an Op-Ed for CNN, Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today confirmed the Trump Administration is actively pursuing a new multi-million dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The proposed deal follows new reports that ousted State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was actively investigating Secretary Pompeo’s special treatment of Saudi Arabia.

“The American people have the right to know that while the Trump administration cannot seem to be bothered to build a political coalition to combat the biggest pandemic in a century, they recently managed to find a way to double down on President Donald Trump’s repulsive embrace of Saudi Arabia’s murderous regime,” wrote Menendez. “And as usual, it involves arms. The administration is currently trying to sell thousands more precision-guided bombs to the President’s ‘friend,’ Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

This week marked the one-year anniversary of the Trump Administration’s effort to evade Congressional oversight for over $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates based on a false emergency declaration.

Click HERE for more information on the Menendez-led effort to approve 22 joint resolutions of disapproval blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to sell arms without Congressional consent.

Full text of the Menendez op-ed can be found HERE.