WASHINGTON--Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with members of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, 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 bin Salman a lavish welcome at the White House on Tuesday and defended him over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, which U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the crown prince approved.
A few 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 bin Salman on Tuesday.
Bin Salman 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 senator in 2019 said the crown prince had gone "full gangster," sat near him during Tuesday's Oval Office meeting. Trump repeatedly said it was "an honor" to be friends with the Saudi leader, and the two men held hands.
This was in sharp contrast to Washington's view of bin Salman during Trump's first term, when lawmakers became angry with Riyadh's role in the civil war in Yemen and human rights record, fueled 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," 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.
Although memories of that time may have faded, bin Salman's reception on Capitol Hill was more subdued than welcomes given other world leaders.The crown prince went to a reception hosted by Johnson and attended by some Democrats as well as some of Trump's fellow Republicans. The event 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 Johnson nor Republican Senate Leader John Thune had the type of press opportunity, with photos or remarks, often held when world leaders visit the Capitol.Leaving the hour-long session with bin Salman, 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," Mast told Reuters.
Later on Wednesday, Risch and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with bin Salman outside the Capitol complex.
