Yesterday afternoon, for the first time in the history of the United States, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution I sponsored along with Mike Lee of Utah and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, withdrawing the United States Armed Forces from an unauthorized and unconstitutional war.
The margin was 56 to 41 in
support of ending our involvement in the war in Yemen. That is, in my view, a
number of “yes” votes that most people would have believed unthinkable even
just a few weeks ago.
I’ve written to you a lot
about my work to put an end to this moral and humanitarian catastrophe, so
today I want to update you on what happens next, and then I am going to ask you
to take action in support of that work.
In order for this bill to get
to President Trump’s desk, it must pass the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, Speaker Paul Ryan has effectively disallowed a vote on the
resolution, despite the fact it would pass with bipartisan support.
So either something has to
change, or the new Congress under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership will have to take
it up again in early 2019. Meanwhile, many Yemeni children and families will
die. More will suffer until we finally act and force these two sides to come to
a resolution that ends this moral abomination.
My hope is that if we can put
enough pressure on Paul Ryan and the Republicans in Congress, something can
change. And if it doesn’t, the new Congress will know without question that the
American people no longer want to play a part in the death and destruction in
Yemen.
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