A welcome veto

US President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that sought to end US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the White House said yesterday.

“This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future,” Trump said in the veto message. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the move “is a positive signal of US resolve towards America’s allies” in a Tweet early on Wednesday.

The resolution passed the House of Representatives in April and the Senate in March, marking the first time both chambers of Congress had supported a War Powers resolution, which limits the president’s ability to send troops into action. Neither the 247-175 tally in the Democratic-majority House nor the 54-46 vote in the Republican-led Senate would be enough to override the veto, which would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers.

The veto was only the second of Trump’s presidency after he overrode a congressional resolution that aimed to reverse the border emergency he declared in order to secure more funding for his wall between the United States and Mexico in March. The resolution by Congress was a harsh bipartisan rebuke to Trump that took the historic step of curtailing a president’s war-making powers - a step he condemned in a statement announcing his veto.