Saudi crown prince hosted at friendlier US Congress

Summary

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington, meeting with President Trump and members of Congress to strengthen economic and security ties amid human rights concerns.
• Despite past condemnation over Jamal Khashoggi's murder, Prince Mohammed received a warm welcome, including a White House dinner and discussions on investments and agreements.
• The visit sparked mixed reactions, with some lawmakers criticising the crown prince's human rights record while others focused on potential collaborations in technology and defence.

WASHINGTON - Members of Congress hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the US Capitol on Nov 19, on the second day of a visit to Washington that has aimed to tout stronger-than-ever economic and security ties while brushing off scrutiny of his human rights record.

President Donald Trump gave Prince Mohammed a lavish welcome at the White House
on Nov 18 and defended him over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, which US intelligence agencies have concluded the crown prince approved.

A handful of Republican members of Congress, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch, and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast, attended a black-tie gala dinner at the White House for Prince Mohammed on Nov 18.

Prince Mohammed was considered an outcast by Washington in the aftermath of Khashoggi's death, but his rehabilitation was rubber-stamped this week.

In one example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who as a Republican US senator in 2019 said the crown prince had gone “full gangster”, sat near him during the Nov 18 Oval Office meeting. Mr Trump repeatedly said it was “an honour” to be friends with the Saudi leader, and the two men held hands.

This was in sharp contrast to Washington’s view of Prince Mohammed during Mr Trump’s first term, as members of Congress became angry with Riyadh’s role in the civil war in Yemen and human rights record, fuelled by Khashoggi’s murder at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

“He is reckless, he’s ruthless, he has a penchant for escalation, for taking high risks, confrontational in his foreign policy approach and I think increasingly willing to test the limits of what he can get away with the United States,” Mr Rubio said at the time. There were multiple and persistent calls from Congress for accountability.

The crown prince has denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

In 2019, Congress passed a resolution demanding an end to military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, although there were too few votes to overturn Mr Trump’s veto.

Subdued reception

Although memories of that time may have faded, Prince Mohammed’s reception on Capitol Hill on Nov 19 was more subdued than the welcomes given to other world leaders.

The crown prince arrived at Congress for a reception hosted by Mr Johnson and attended by some Democrats as well as some of Mr Trump’s fellow Republicans.

The meeting was not announced and the speaker’s office did not respond to a request for comment. No similar meeting was held in the Senate.

Neither Mr Johnson nor Republican Senate Leader John Thune had the type of press opportunity, with photos and remarks, that is often held when world leaders visit the Capitol.

Leaving the hour-long session with Prince Mohammed, committee chairman Mr Mast said it had been a “fantastic” meeting that covered topics from Saudi Arabia’s future internally, to Israel and Gaza, technology transfers, and efforts to thwart Chinese espionage.

“We covered just a lot of ground and covered a lot of ground with his royal highness at the White House last night as well,” Mr Mast told Reuters.

Several lawmakers harshly criticised Prince Mohammed.

Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts remembered Khashoggi. “A Saudi prince didn’t like his viewpoint - so he had him brutally murdered and hacked to death,” Mr McGovern said on X.com. “Anyone who can put that aside for polite dinner conversation is sick in the head.”

Prince Mohammed, who agreed in the meeting with Mr Trump to increase the kingdom’s planned investments in the US to US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) from US$600 billion, also attended an investment conference in Washington on Nov 19 that included chief executive officers from major US companies. The two sides also announced new agreements on arms sales, civil nuclear cooperation and artificial intelligence.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, attended the House reception. Afterwards, he called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on the agreements and questioned whether Mr Trump’s family businesses would benefit.

Mr Trump on Nov 18 vehemently denied any conflict of interest with his family’s Saudi investment interests. REUTERS