Congress now has an opportunity to demonstrate that it will not allow the president to trample on its prerogatives to appease a murderous Arab strongman. The Senate is expected to vote this week on a number of resolutions disapproving the arms sales, and similar legislation is pending in the House. The measures have bipartisan support: Senior Republicans have been infuriated by Mr. Trump’s disregard for congressional authority and for his indiscriminate support for the Saudi regime despite its record of committing likely war crimes in Yemen while torturing and killing domestic opponents.

Passage of the resolutions is not certain: It could require 60 votes, and even then, it might not stop the sales. Mr. Trump could veto the resolution, and the Senate Republican leadership is committed to preventing a successful override vote. But the action would still have value. The president could be forced to cast new vetoes to perpetuate an alliance that has turned toxic thanks to the bloody excesses of Mohammed bin Salman. Mr. Trump’s supporters will have cause to wonder why he would go to such lengths to preserve his ties to the Saudis — could it be because of his personal business interests? And U.S. defense contractors who sell to Riyadh, such as Raytheon, will have to consider what consequences they may eventually face if U.S.-supplied bombs continue to be aimed at schools, hospitals and mosques in Yemen over Congress’s explicit opposition.

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The administration claims it is justified in using emergency authority to advance the sales because of rising tensions with Iran — a crisis largely of its own making. But as the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul (Tex.), pointed out, some of the materiel will not be ready for delivery for more than a year, meaning the sales are not relevant to the current situation in the Persian Gulf or in Yemen. In reality, Mr. Trump is establishing a dangerous precedent: that he and future presidents may sell U.S. weapons to any dictator in the world without consulting Congress, simply by declaring a notional emergency.

That’s why, in addition to voting against the current sales, Congress should act on proposals to amend the Arms Export Control Act to prevent future abuses by Mr. Trump. The pending, must-pass National Defense Authorization Act provides a ready vehicle for closing the emergency loophole. If Mr. Trump wishes to continue catering to Mohammed bin Salman, he should not be allowed to do so without consulting Congress.

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