Critics of the U.S.-supported bombing of Yemen rebuked the Trump administration on Saturday after it ducked congressional approval by invoking emergency powers to approve billions of dollars in American-made arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"Selling more weapons to Saudi Arabia doesn't make America safer or align with our country's values," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a tweet. "It only benefits defense contractors and @realDonaldTrump's alarming desire to sow chaos abroad."

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced on Friday the administration's plans to utilize the emergency provision to bypass the 30-day congressional notification period for arms sales. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later confirmed the plan.

Pompeo's statement on Friday said, in part,

Today, I made a determination pursuant to section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act and directed the Department to complete immediately the formal notification of 22 pending arms transfers to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia totaling approximately $8.1 billion to deter Iranian aggression and build partner self-defense capacity. These sales will support our allies, enhance Middle East stability, and help these nations to deter and defend themselves from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Delaying this shipment could cause degraded systems and a lack of necessary parts and maintenance that could create severe airworthiness and interoperability concerns for our key partners, during a time of increasing regional volatility... The equipment notified today includes aircraft support maintenance; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); munitions; and other supplies.

The development left Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a vocal critic of the war on Yemen, bristling.

Totally misleading. Congress doesn’t approve sales so we didn’t “fail to act”. All we can do is disapprove, but that can’t happen until an arms sale is noticed. The Administration never noticed this sale - until Friday night when they used emergency powers to avoid our review. https://t.co/hEBfe2OuGb — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 25, 2019 Over and over, when Trump knows he can’t win a fight in Congress, he makes up emergency powers to get what he wants.



building his wall

sabotaging Obamacare

selling arms to Saudi Arabia



This isn’t how democracy works. — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 25, 2019

Other anti-war voices pushed back against the administration's narrative of "Iranian aggression."

Trump concocts a crisis with Iran so he can circumvent congressional restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates despite their deadly bombing and blockading of Yemeni civilians. #ProfitsBeforePrinciples https://t.co/bryKofyJp4 — Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 25, 2019 SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Never Miss a Beat. Get our best delivered to your inbox.





The threat of ‘Iranian aggression' is a manufactured crisis.



Yet the world's largest humanitarian crisis is in #Yemen, where these weapons will be used to create even more death and destruction. #YemenCantWait https://t.co/yx259tVcPm — CODEPINK (@codepink) May 24, 2019

With those perhaps most affected by the arms sale—Yemeni civilians—voiceless in the decision, Amnesty International USA and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) highlighted the devastation wrought by American weaponry.

As Pompeo moves to sell weapons to the Saudi regime which has no respect for human rights, here’s a reminder that American-made bombs have killed children in Yemen. https://t.co/iYwIBWxJEp — Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) May 25, 2019 In this photo, people carry the body of Muhammad Mansour out from under the rubble of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in Sana’a, Yemen. His 5 year-old daughter Buthaina al-Raymi survived, but 8 family members, including five children, were killed. pic.twitter.com/kncQpIF3g1 — Amnesty International (@amnestyusa) May 24, 2019 And this is 5 year-old Buthaina al-Raymi in the hospital.



This photo was taken on 29 August 2017, four days following the airstrike that killed her entire family - a strike carried out with US bombs sold to Saudi Arabia, just like the ones President Trump wants to sell more of. pic.twitter.com/Wr48yTuO9x — Amnesty International (@amnestyusa) May 24, 2019

"The Trump administration must stop supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition, which has repeatedly committed horrific violations in Yemen, some amounting to war crimes, devastating the lives of thousands," said Philippe Nassif, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA.

"We know arms manufactured in the United States have been used in deadly strikes against civilians," he added. "U.S. munitions have been found in the remains of bombed homes, hospitals, and hotels throughout Yemen's devastating war, killing almost 7,000 people."

The news of the arms sale follows Trump announcing the deployment of 900 new troops and the extended deployment of 600 more in the Middle East to counter supposed Iranian threats—a move Pompeo's Iranian counterpart sharply criticized.

Speaking to state news agency IRNA, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said Saturday, "The Americans have made such allegations to justify their hostile policies and to raise tensions in the Persian Gulf."

“Increased U.S. presence in our region is extremely dangerous," he said, "and it threatens international peace and security, and this should be addressed."