Foreign Policy and National Security

In his first major foreign policy address, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would end American support for Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led "offensive operations" in Yemen, echoing a promise he made on the campaign trail in 2019.

Speaking at the State Department, Biden told diplomats that he would prioritize diplomatic solutions to the conflict and appointed, as a special envoy, one of the department's top Middle East experts. He also announced support for a cease-fire and an effort to restart long-stalled peace talks.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California is a third-term progressive Democrat in the House who has made a name for himself as a strident opponent of the US government's interminable support for the "forever wars" — the numerous military actions that have gone on for years without congressional approval.

Khanna spoke with Insider columnist Anthony Fisher by phone on Friday, less than 48 hours after the deadly insurrection by Trump supporters on the Capitol during the Electoral College certification proceedings.

The following interview has been edited for style, length, and clarity.

Just 20 House Democrats opted to break with their party and their Republican counterparts late Monday to vote against overriding President Donald Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, a sprawling bill that greenlights over $740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one the few House Democrats who voted against overriding the president's NDAA veto, applauded his colleagues for having "the courage tonight to vote no on the bloated defense budget."

When Congressman Ro Khanna introduced a resolution to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen without the backing of congressional leaders in September 2017, it appeared more like a statement against the violence with a minimal chance of passing.