its alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its involvement in the war in Yemen, but also what they see as Trump's strong-arm efforts to sell weapons without seeking congressional say-so.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chief sponsor of the legislation, said the vote was not "about any one president or any one arms sales" but about being an "effective check" on the executive branch.

"We must both assert our role in upholding the rule of law at home and use our position to ensure that when our government seeks to swell weapons, those sales advance our national security interests and our values," he said.

He was joined by almost every Democrat and six Republicans – Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Jerry Moran ofdeclaring a national security emergency. Pompeo said threats from Iran, a foe of the United States and Saudi Arabia, justified the decision to bypass congressional review.

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The move sparked immediate blowback on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in both parties questioned the legitimacy of Pompeo's "emergency" declaration, and they argued that Saudi Arabia has become an unreliable ally, undeserving of U.S. weapons.

"Now is not the time to do business as usual with Saudi Arabia," Graham, usually a staunch Trump ally, said this month.

Graham and others are particularly incensed about the alleged role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist killed last fall at the Saudi Consulate.

Thursday's vote comes