The State Department has notified Congress that it is moving forward with the granting of a license for the sale of precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, a person familiar with the situation confirmed in The Hill.
The license, the advance of which was first reported by Bloomberg News, would allow Raytheon to sell 7,500 of its “smart” Paveway air-to-ground bombs directly to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $ 478 million. of dollars.
When asked for comments, a State Department spokesman told The Hill that federal law and regulation prohibit the department from “commenting on or confirming specific cases of commercial export licenses in defense of direct commercial sales.”
The administration is moving forward with the approval of the license in the days leading up to President Trump
Donald Trump McCarthy will offer UC’s request to review foreign spending on GOP bus senator on Trump pardons: “This is rotten to the bottom” Trump pardons Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner in the last round MOREThe mandate on the objection of democratic legislators.
Lawmakers on both sides have increasingly opposed the sale of Saudi weapons amid thousands of civilian deaths in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Many lawmakers also reached their breaking point with the Kingdom when a Saudi squad killed and dismantled journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
His. Bob Menendez
Robert (Bob) Menendez Year-end agreement creates Latin American and women’s history museums Lawmakers call for the creation of Latin women’s history museums to be included in Trump’s year-end spending agreement offered 0 million to victims of terrorism to save the Sudan-Israel MORE agreement (DN.J.), the most prominent member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, previously warned of an impending arms sale to the Saudis in a May opinion by CNN in which he demanded that the State Department justify it. .
“Currently, the administration is trying to sell thousands of more precisely-guided bombs to the president’s‘ friend ’, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Menendez wrote.
“The administration has refused to answer our key questions to justify this new sale and articulate how it would be consistent with U.S. values and national security goals,” he added.
Trump has made arms sales to the Kingdom an integral part of his foreign policy, arguing that they are needed to counter Iran and boost jobs for American arms manufacturers.
The paved bombs were also part of the Trump administration’s controversial 2019 “emergency” arms sale of $ 8 billion to the Saudis that Democrats charged to oversee congressional oversight. Congress eventually passed bipartisan resolutions to block those sales, but Trump vetoed them.
Subsequently, the Inspector General of the State Department found Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo: Trump administration advances bomb sale to Saudis Trump makes threats after major rocket attack on U.S. embassy in Baghdad since 2010 Trump imposes new sanctions on Belarus for election fraud and human rights abuses MORE he was under his authority to drive sales, but blamed him for not ensuring that American weapons were not used against the civilian population.
President-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden: Trump administration advances bomb sales to Saudis Klobuchar: Trump “tries to burn this country out” PENDING ENERGY: EPA declines to tighten smog air quality standards | Green groups demand Trump’s bid to open Tongass Forest in Alaska to felling MORE has promised to review the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, although the Paveway bombs license could be issued before it takes office on Jan. 20.