State Department officials testify before Congress on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the May 2019 sale did not warrant an emergency certification, but a State official cited the threat from Iran.
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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel arrives on Sept. 16, 2020, for a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington investigating the firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. - Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
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Adam Lucente
@Adam_Lucente

State Department officials defended the May 2019 arms sale to Gulf countries in Congress today, but some House members continued to take issue with the department’s actions.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said many in Congress thought that the US arming of Saudi Arabia led to unnecessary civilian deaths in Yemen but that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disagreed.

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