Tim Kaine: “I rise to speak today about the vote we cast earlier confirming GEN John Abizaid, Retired, to be U.S. Ambassador to…”

“I rise to speak today about the vote we cast earlier confirming GEN John Abizaid, Retired, to be U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. I was proud to vote for him. I think he is very well qualified for that position. The position has been vacant since 2017. Other critical countries in this most important region are without Ambassadors--Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan. General Abizaid has his work cut out for him, and I want to speak specifically about some of the challenges in Saudi Arabia now. I believe there is a great day of reckoning that is now pending in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a Senate resolution ordering the President to stop U.S. military action in support of Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen's civil war. The Senate had earlier acted on that bill in 2018. It went to the House and died. The Senate took up the bill again recently, and the House passed it. The bill is now on its way to the President's desk. The President has indicated that he is likely to veto the bill, to continue U.S. support for Saudi military activity in Yemen. If that happens, the bill will come back to the Senate, and the Senate will then have the opportunity to vote on whether that veto should be overridden. The House vote to withdraw U.S. support for this military activity was 247 to 175. The Senate vote was 54 to 46. The Yemen civil war has been a humanitarian disaster.…”