Donald Trump has vetoed a motion that would have stopped the US providing military aid to Saudi Arabia for their ongoing war in Yemen.

Congress had passed a never-before-used war powers resolution in a bid to change White House policy on the conflict, which has raged for four years.

Many in Washington have been keen for Mr Trump to distance himself from Riyadh since the October killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but the president has been reluctant to condemn the kingdom over his death despite it being widely suspected that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit.

The US has provided billions of dollars in weaponry to the Saudi-led coalition fighting against rebels in Yemen, and the president has said that the aid will continue.

Explaining his decision to veto the resolution, he wrote: “This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future.”

The war in Yemen, which is widely accepted as having begun formally in March 2015, has seen thousands die and 20 million more live on the brink of famine.

It is being fought between the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, and a coalition of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Senegal and Sudan, with backing from the US, the UK and France.

Members of congress have expressed concern about the thousands of civilians killed in coalition air strikes, and approved the resolution earlier this month on a 247-175 vote. The senate vote last month was 54-46.

Democratic representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, said the humanitarian crisis triggered by the conflict “demands moral leadership”.

But Mr Trump never looked likely to give it presidential approval, claiming that it would harm bilateral relations and interfere with his constitutional power as commander in chief.

He also said the motion was not needed because the US was not engaged in the conflict beyond counter-terror operations against Islamic State militants and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

He added that there were no American troops in Yemen, insisting that the US had only provided limited support in the form of intelligence sharing, logistics support, and in-flight refuelling of non-US aircraft.

The president also said support for the coalition was necessary to protect the safety of 80,000 Americans who live in certain areas of the coalition countries subject to Houthi attacks.

“Houthis, supported by Iran, have used missiles, armed drones and explosive boats to attack civilian and military targets in those coalition countries, including areas frequented by American citizens, such as the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Mr Trump wrote.

“In addition, the conflict in Yemen represents a ‘cheap’ and inexpensive way for Iran to cause trouble for the US and for our ally, Saudi Arabia.”

It marks the second time Mr Trump has utilised his presidential veto power.

Last month, he prevented an attempt by congress to block him from declaring a national emergency so that he could use more money to construct a wall at the US-Mexico border.

The president made the move after the Democrats, who control the house of representatives, refused to agree to release funding for the wall.

The stand-off resulted in the longest government shutdown in US history.

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