EXCLUSIVE: Rand Paul Will Attempt to Block Trump’s Saudi Arms Deal

Rand Paul Official Portrait

Senator Rand Paul is promising to file a resolution of disapproval to block an arms deal with Saudi Arabia as soon as the administration formally notifies congress, Senate sources tell Big League Politics.

On Friday, it was reported that Trump is planning to announce the arms deal during his trip to the nation over the weekend. The terms have not been officially announced, and value ranges from being reported as $100 billion to as much as $300 billion.

The action by the Kentucky senator will force a congressional vote on the executive action. He will reportedly be citing the war in Yemen, terror funding, and the nation’s human rights abuses among the reasons to block this deal.

Paul previously filed a resolution of disapproval last year over a much smaller arms deal with Pakistan, invoking the obscure law from the 1970s. He was attempting to block the sale of $700 million worth of fighter jets to the nation.

“I can’t in good conscience look away as America crumbles at home and politicians tax us to send the money to corrupt and duplicitous regimes abroad,” Paul said on the Senate floor last March. “Pakistan is at best a frenemy. Part friend — and a lot of enemy.”

Unfortunately, senate disagreed and the arms deal ended up moving forward, despite Paul’s support from Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker. Paul’s move did raise public awareness and scrutiny however, which may have been the reason why then-President Barack Obama ended up pulling the deal back.

Paul has been a vocal and unrelenting critic of Saudi Arabia, including leading the fight to release the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 report. The unredacted documents were published by Congress last summer, and showed evidence of Riyadh providing financial, legal and social support the al Qaeda terrorists.

Deals with Saudi Arabia are reportedly being overseen by globalist White House advisors Jared Kushner and Dina Powell.

The large deal is said to include some items that were already in the works under the Obama administration, including littoral combat ships that Riyadh had requested in 2015 — as well as precision-guided missiles that were halted by the previous administration over concerns about Saudi Arabia’s lack of concern for civilian casualties in Yemen.

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