Foreign Policy and National Security

WASHINGTON ― As Democrats plan for a potential future in which they have control of the U.S. House, lawmakers, candidates and outside groups close to the party are quietly preparing a new push against the overlooked war in Afghanistan.

Washington (CNN)The United States is working to capitalize on what it regards as new leverage with Saudi Arabia to end the brutal civil war in Yemen and ease a regional standoff with Qatar, according to multiple US and diplomatic officials.

WASHINGTON — When California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and other freshman lawmakers visited with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in April, Khanna did something some might consider surprising, especially for a progressive Democrat: He encouraged Trump.

At the time, Trump was under fire for praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "very honorable," and seeking to meet with Kim with no preconditions. Khanna — a House Armed Services Committee member — made a case to Trump to keep up his peacemaking efforts. Anything to avoid more military intervention.

A heavyweight right-wing financier has thrown in with a left-right coalition to end the U.S. military's involvement in the Saudi-led war on Yemen, one of the world's most devastating humanitarian catastrophes, The Daily Beast has learned.

The Charles Koch Institute, bearing the brand of one of the most influential sources of conservative political money, is backing an effort spearheaded by progressive California Democrat Ro Khanna to demand either an end to non-counterterrorism aid to the Yemen war or a direct congressional vote authorizing it.

A group of House Democrats penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday asking him to condemn far-right Brazilian presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro.

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), cited concerns for "rising threats to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Brazil" in making their request.

"Given the regional repercussions of this sort of development, this is not a threat that our country can take lightly," they wrote.

More than a dozen House Democrats are urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to condemn Brazil's far-right presidential candidate for encouraging political violence, showing a lack of commitment to democracy and attacking minority communities.

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and including Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.), in their letter dated Friday call Jair Bolsonaro a "far-right extremist" who has said he will not accept the election results if he loses.