WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution on U.S. involvement in war in Yemen:

President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

The veto is just the second in Trump's presidency. It has been expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it.

Passing the never-before-used war powers resolution has been viewed as a milestone for lawmakers, who have shown a renewed willingness to assert their war-making authority after letting it atrophy for decades under presidents from both parties.

In explaining his veto, Trump calls the resolution "an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities." He also says it endangers the lives of American citizens and service members.

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival.

President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution passed to end U.S. military assistance in the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.

In a break with the president, Congress voted for the first time to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try and stop U.S. involvement in a foreign conflict.

Trump vetoed the measure Tuesday. Congress lacks the votes to override him.

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival. Many lawmakers also criticized the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of a Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who had been critical of the kingdom. </s> President Donald Trump has vetoed a bill Congress passed to end U.S. military assistance in the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.

In a break with the president, Congress voted for the first time to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try and stop U.S. involvement in a foreign conflict.

Trump vetoed the measure Wednesday. Congress lacks the votes to override him.

RELATED: Senate votes to force US withdrawal from Saudi war in Yemen

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival. Many lawmakers also criticized the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of a Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who had been critical of the kingdom.

President Donald Trump speaks about border security in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 15, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that sought to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the White House said on Tuesday.

“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.

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.

Backers of the measure said the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen had made the humanitarian crisis worse, harshly criticizing Riyadh for killing civilians.

They also argued that U.S. involvement in Yemen violated the constitutional requirement that Congress, not the president, should determine when the country goes to war.

The four-year-long civil war in Yemen, which pits the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels backed by Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine. </s> Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

The veto — the second in Trump's presidency — was expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it. But passing the never-before-used war powers resolution was viewed as a milestone for lawmakers, who have shown a renewed willingness to assert their war-making authority after letting it atrophy for decades under presidents from both parties.

"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 wrote in explaining his veto.

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival.

Many lawmakers also criticized the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the United States and had written critically about the kingdom. Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October and never came out. Intelligence agencies said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the killing.

The U.S. provides billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen. Members of Congress have expressed concern about the thousands of civilians killed in coalition airstrikes since the conflict began in 2014. The fighting in the Arab world's poorest country also has left millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Trump said the measure was unnecessary because except for counterterrorism operations against Islamic State militants and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the United States is not engaged in hostilities in or affecting Yemen.

He said there were no U.S. military personnel in Yemen accompanying the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthis, although he acknowledged that the U.S. has provided limited support to the coalition, including intelligence sharing, logistics support, and — until recently — in-flight refueling of non-U.S. aircraft.

The president also said that the measure would harm bilateral relations and interferes with his constitutional power as commander in chief.

He said the U.S. is providing the support to protect the safety of more than 80,000 Americans who live in certain areas of the coalition countries subject to Houthi attacks from Yemen.

"Houthis, supported by Iran, have used missiles, armed drones and explosive boats to attack civilian and military targets in those coalition countries, including areas frequented by American citizens, such as the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," Trump said. "In addition, the conflict in Yemen represents a 'cheap' and inexpensive way for Iran to cause trouble for the United States and for our ally, Saudi Arabia."

House approval of the resolution came earlier this month on a 247-175 vote. The Senate vote last month was 54-46.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that Trump's veto "shows the world he is determined to keep aiding a Saudi-backed war that has killed thousands of civilians and pushed millions more to the brink of starvation."

Kaine accused Trump of turning a blind eye to Khashoggi's killing and the jailing of women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

"I hope my colleagues will show we won't tolerate the Trump administration's deference to Saudi Arabia at the expense of American security interests by voting to override this veto," Kaine said.

The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, acknowledged the dire situation in Yemen for civilians, but spoke out in opposition to the measure when it was passed. McCaul said it was an abuse of the War Powers Resolution and predicted it could disrupt U.S. security cooperation agreements with more than 100 countries.

Trump issued his first veto last month on legislation related to immigration. Trump had declared a national emergency so he could use more money to construct a border wall. Congress voted to block the emergency declaration and Trump vetoed that measure. </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vetoes resolution calling on US to withdraw support from Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives approved a resolution on Thursday to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, rebuffing President Donald Trump`s policy of continued support for the kingdom.

As the resolution had already passed the Senate, the vote in the Democratic-led House sends the measure to the White House, which said last month Trump would issue a veto. It would be the second of his presidency.

The vote in the House was 247-175, as 16 Republicans joined the majority Democrats in backing the rare use of the War Powers Act, which limits the president`s ability to send troops into action.

"The president will have to face the reality that Congress is no longer going to ignore its constitutional obligations when it comes to foreign policy," Representative Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said before the vote.

Still, neither the House tally nor the 54-46 bipartisan vote in the Senate, where Republicans have a slim majority, would be enough to override a veto.

The four-year-long civil war in Yemen, which pits the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels backed by Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world`s most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Backers of the resolution argued that U.S. involvement in Yemen violated the constitutional requirement that Congress, not the president, should determine when the country goes to war.

Resolution opponents argued that support for the Saudi-led coalition was not an appropriate use of the War Powers Act, which limits the president`s ability to send troops into action.

Getting the measure passed took months, despite outrage in Congress over the civilian toll in the Yemen conflict, Saudi Arabia`s human rights record and calls for a tougher line on the government in Riyadh after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in October.

House Republicans, who had derailed the resolution earlier this year by tying it to a measure condemning anti-Semitism, tried to stop it again on Thursday by adding a provision opposing the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement seeking to punish Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.

That effort failed in the House and was condemned by the House Democratic majority leader as a "cynical, political ploy." Overcoming Trump`s veto would require two-third majorities in both the Senate and the House. </s> WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday vetoed a resolution from Congress directing him to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the second such move of his presidency.

The resolution 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.

"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.

The veto was the second of his 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.

Vetoing the measure is an "effective green light for the war strategy that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis to continue," said International Rescue Committee president and CEO David Miliband.

"Yemen is at a breaking point with 10 million people on the brink of famine. There are as many as 100 civilian casualties per week, and Yemenis are more likely to be killed at home than in any other structure."

Trump argued that US support for the bloody war between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Huthi rebels was necessary for a variety of reasons, "first and foremost" to "protect the safety of the more than 80,000 Americans who reside in certain coalition countries."

These countries "have been subject to Huthi attacks from Yemen," he said, referring to drone and missile strikes the Saudi-led coalition has either claimed were intercepted or denied altogether.

The president also said the resolution would "harm the foreign policy of the United States" and "harm our bilateral relationships."

And it would "negatively affect our ongoing efforts to prevent civilian casualties and prevent the spread of terrorist organisations such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS, and embolden Iran's malign activities in Yemen," Trump said, referring to two Sunni Muslim militant groups and his Shiite bete noire.

The resolution, which passed the US House of Representatives earlier this month and the Senate in March, was a historic milestone, as it was the first time in history that a measure invoking the 1973 War Powers Resolution reached the president's desk.

Democrats argued that US involvement in the Yemen conflict - through intelligence-sharing, logistical support and now-discontinued aerial refuelling - is unconstitutional without congressional authority.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi - the country's most senior Democratic politician - took aim at Trump's veto in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

"The conflict in Yemen is a horrific humanitarian crisis that challenges the conscience of the entire world," Pelosi wrote. "Yet the President has cynically chosen to contravene a bipartisan, bicameral vote of the Congress & perpetuate America's shameful involvement in this heartbreaking crisis."

Senator Bernie Sanders, a lead author of the Yemen resolution and a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, said that "the people of Yemen desperately need humanitarian help, not more bombs."

"I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Trump has rejected the bi-partisan resolution to end U.S. involvement in the horrific war in Yemen," Sanders tweeted.

Critics of the intervention warn that Saudi forces are likely using US weapons to commit atrocities in the four-year war.

Some 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen over the past four years, according to the World Health Organization, although rights groups say the toll could be five times higher.

Both the Saudi-led alliance and Huthi rebels have been accused of acts that could amount to war crimes, while the coalition has been blacklisted by the United Nations for killing and maiming children. </s> President Donald Trump vetoes resolution calling on US to withdraw support from Saudi-led war in Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump vetoes resolution calling on US to withdraw support from Saudi-led war in Yemen. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump vetoes resolution calling on US to withdraw support from Saudi-led war in Yemen.
U.S. President Donald Trump vetoes a Congressional resolution that sought to end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen.