Apr 28, 2020
The House Foreign Affairs Committee spotlighted Yemen in its first virtual briefing, which the Middle East subcommittee held today.
“During our subcommittee’s virtual event examining the crisis in Yemen, we heard first-hand accounts of the situation on the ground,” Middle East panel Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said in a statement. “Along with reduced US and international aid, the current conditions could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 in Yemen and the region. The US must continue to help foster a political agreement to end the war, reduce human suffering and contain COVID-19 in Yemen.”
Lawmakers heard from human rights advocates and scholars during the virtual briefing, but it was not open to the general public or reporters.
Why it matters: Democrats gained control of the Foreign Affairs Committee last year after retaking the House in November 2018. While President Donald Trump vetoed legislation intended to end US support for the Saudi coalition fighting the Houthi rebels last year, the fact that Democrats opted to hold their first remote briefing on Yemen in the midst of a global pandemic signals that Congress will continue pressure the Trump administration on the issue.
What’s next: Deutch joined Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and five other Democrats in warning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against the Trump administration’s decision to cut the lion’s share of US assistance to Yemen last month. While the Trump administration maintains that the $73 million cut was necessary because of the Houthis’ onerous aid restrictions, the United Nations has warned that the budget shortfall is likely to force the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to end most of their health operations in Yemen despite the looming specter of COVID-19. The Trump administration has also vowed to provide more coronavirus aid to Yemen, but it remains unclear how the United States will administer that aid given its new policy of withholding assistance in Houthi-held territory and refusal to work with the WHO.