The United States Senate failed on Monday to override President Donald Trump’s veto after presenting three joint resolutions demanding the prohibition of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Monday vote which aimed to override Trump’s vetoes has failed by 45 to 40, as to block Trump’s veto the Senate needed a two-thirds vote.
Trump announced that stopping the sales “would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners.”
Earlier this month, the president used the veto to reject the attempt by lawmakers to halt the controversial weapons transfers.
By using his presidential veto to override resolutions passed by Congress preventing the sale, Trump’s decision to sell the weapons has bypassed congressional review, which has enraged lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The controversial sale is worth $8.1bn of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile the House Oversight Committee released a report which raises serious questions about “whether the White House is willing to place the potential profits of the president’s friends above the national security of the American people and the universal objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons”.
