Senators approve anti-Saudi resolution

The U.S. Senate on Thursday defied the White House by rebuking Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Seven Republican senators, including co-sponsor Mike Lee of Utah, joined with Democrats to approve a nonbinding resolution calling for the United States to end its assistance to Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen.

A separate resolution also put the blame for Khashoggi’s death squarely on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. U.S. intelligence officials concluded the crown prince was likely involved in the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. But the Trump administration has argued there’s no smoking gun implicating the crown prince and Saudi Arabia is too important an ally to risk alienating. The House likely won’t consider the Yemen resolution.