Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a resolution to end US support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen War, which has starved 13 million people.

The resolution would have overturned president Donald Trump’s veto of legislation to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Seven Republicans joined all Senate Democrats to support the resolution on Thursday, securing a 53-45 vote, but overriding presidential vetoes required a two-thirds majority – 67 votes.

Democratic senator Michael Bennet and Republican Marco Rubio did not vote. All other Republicans voted against the resolution.

The resolution, an unprecedented rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy, required the president to withdraw any troops in or supporting Yemen within 30 days unless they were fighting al-Qaeda.

Food aid for Yemenis stolen Show all 21 1 /21 Food aid for Yemenis stolen Food aid for Yemenis stolen People walk in a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen People stand near their rooms inside a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A baby sleeps inside a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A woman sits with her baby inside a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen Sisters play in their room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen The entrance of the hangar of the United Nations in Aden, Yemen, in this 23 July 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A man sells aid supplies at a market in Aden, Yemen, in this 23 July 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen The entrance to the port where aid is received, in Aden, Yemen, is shown in this 23 July 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen This 24 July 2018 photo shows a gas station on a road in Shabwah, Yemen. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A worn-out list of registered names for aid by Relief International, part of the World Food Program, is posted in Aden, Yemen in this 23 July 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A truck carries aid on a road in Aden, Yemen, in this 23 July 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A man fixes his scarf at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen Children play in a room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen Children look out of their room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A woman holds her baby as she leaves her room in a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A family poses for a photograph in their room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A family sits in their room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A bucket filled with bread at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, is shown in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A family poses for a photograph in a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A child stands in a room at a shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) Food aid for Yemenis stolen A shelter for displaced persons in Ibb, Yemen, is shown in this 3 Aug 2018 photo. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

The US has been providing Saudi Arabia with logistical support and intelligence sharing during the brutal four-year war, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and left millions on the brink of famine.

According to recent UN estimates, the death toll could soar to 233,000 by the end of 2019, with 60 per cent of the casualties being children under the age of five.

Congress initially passed the resolution claiming never-before-used powers in the War Powers Act, in an unprecedented rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy.

Trump vetoed the resolution in April, calling it an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken his constitutional authority. It was only the second veto of Trump’s presidency.

The first happened in March this year. Congress voted to end the national emergency declared by Trump to build a border wall in the south. Trump vetoed the resolution, and the House of Representatives failed to override it.

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders, one of the sponsors of the resolution to end US support to the Saudi-led war, said it still showed that “after years of abdicating that responsibility, congress stood up in the Senate and in the House and said: You know what, Mr President, you do not have the power to get US troops involved in a war that we did not vote upon. And that is a big deal.”

Opponents of the resolution argued that it was not an appropriate use of the War Powers Act, because the military provided support such as targeting assistance to the Saudi-UAE coalition, not troops.

The Pentagon said continued support of the coalition was in the US interest because it helped American allies push back against Iranian aggression in the region.

Yemen: The decades-long struggle ahead to clear the country of landmines

The push to end American involvement in the war gained strength in congress last year after Saudi agents killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a commentator who had lived in the US and written critically about the kingdom.

With the veto remaining intact, lawmakers said they were already looking for other ways to adjust relations with the Saudis.

“Like many of us here today, I’m dissatisfied with the state of the US-Saudi relationship,” said Republican Senator Jim Risch, who voted against overriding Trump’s veto. “Frankly, aspects of Saudi Arabia’s behaviour are cause for serious, serious concern.”

Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war started in 2015, when the kingdom and its Gulf partners launched a bombing campaign after Iran-backed Houthi rebels ousted the country’s president in a civil war.