President Trump’s inexplicable fealty toward the Saudi royal family is baffling. Ever since touching the glowing orb at a summit in Riyadh, he has turned a blind eye toward Saudi malfeasance and excess.

From supporting the Jamal Khashoggi murder cover-up to ignoring the imprisonment of women protesters and mass executions by beheading. He has been silent about the exfiltration of suspected Saudi students from U.S. police custody and has supported the U.S. assisting the genocidal war being perpetrated in Yemen.

He has vetoed a congressional resolution that would force the administration to withdraw U.S. military and arms from involvement in that war. Indeed, Trump has done an end run around congressional review to illegally sell even more high tech armaments to the kingdom.

What is the outsized power that this foreign monarchy holds over the president? It isn’t enough to say “Saudi Arabia buys a lot, I don’t want to lose them.” That is nonsensical – international policy is not a mere business transaction as used in New York real estate. Unless, perhaps it is, and the American people are not being allowed to find out whether there are other financial influences on this president.

This is but a symptom of the erosion of the traditional separation of powers in our government. Mr. Trump has utilized one manufactured crisis after another to justify dubious executive fiats to usurp congressional oversight and checks and balances. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Mitch McConnell, the Senate has aided Trump in the creation of a strong “unitary president” where an obsequious Congress is merely an enabler and hand maiden. One wonders what it will take for the Republicans in the Senate to say “enough is enough” and assert their rightful oversight role  – before it is too late and it becomes a mere rubber stamp for an autocracy.

Greg Rossel

Troy