Reuters quoted US congressional aides that the administration of President Donald Trump was considering ending the congressional review of foreign sales of long-standing weapons, but had yet to make a final decision, amid White House fears of delaying sales to Saudi Arabia.
Reuters also quoted its sources as saying that the White House is frustrated with the delay in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in particular, which prompted him to study this step.
The sources added that the step to end the review received bipartisan opposition in the Republican-led Senate and the Democratic-led House of Representatives.
The agency said that Trump had angered lawmakers last year by declaring a national emergency to complete military sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states worth $ 8 billion.
Members of Congress were delaying the sale of military equipment to the region due to the war in Yemen and violations of human rights, including the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
It is noteworthy that the prominent members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have the right to review and prevent arms sales under an unofficial four-decade review.
The New York Times reported late last month that lawmakers said the Trump administration was moving to sell $ 478 million worth of guided missiles to Saudi Arabia, despite opposition from Congress.
The newspaper said that the US State Department had informally informed lawmakers last January that it was planning to complete the deal and grant licenses to Raytheon Military Industries to expand its activities in the kingdom.
It is noteworthy that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo succeeded in overcoming the rejection by Congress of a $ 8 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, by resorting to a mysterious mechanism in which he considered the conclusion of this deal as an "emergency."
Finally, Trump dismissed - at Pompeo's request - State Department's Inspector General Steve Link, who was investigating - among other things - the emergency measure that had been approved to pass this arms deal.