Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly canceled his meeting with US Senators this week over concerns about who might show up.
The Saudi leader, commonly referred to as MBS, is on an official state visit to the US t to talk to officials about defense agreements, the Middle Eastern country’s pledged $600 billion investment into the US and a potential civilian nuclear deal.
On Wednesday, MBS was slated to meet with a group of Senators on Capitol Hill to further ties between the legislators and Saudi Arabia.
However, the meeting was abruptly called off on Tuesday, sources familiar with the planning told Punchbowl News.
The Senate session was canceled because Saudi officials were ‘being overly sensitive about which senators could attend.’
The cancellation appears to be confirmed by the Saudi Arabian state-owned outlet Al Arabiya.
‘On Wednesday, the Crown Prince, Trump, and more than 400 CEOs from Saudi and US companies will attend the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center. The Crown Prince is expected to depart the United States after the event,’ the outlet wrote on Tuesday.
Of course, senators still may meet with MBS on their own accord.
President Donald Trump invited Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House on Tuesday. MBS was planning to visit with Senators on Wednesday, but that meeting has reportedly been canceled after the Saudis raised concerns over certain lawmakers attending the meeting
Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Turkey in 2018. His death was ordered by MBS, the CIA reportedly has claimed with ‘high confidence’
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham has been acutely critical of MBS in the past, vowing in 2018 to never work with the leader as long as he remains in power
As expected, Democrats fumed over the crown prince’s trip to the White House – particularly over the CIA’s 2018 conclusion that MBS ordered the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
‘This is the dictator who had a U.S. columnist murdered for criticizing the Saudi royal family,’ Senator Bernie Sanders posted on X this week.
‘Sadly, we have a president who prefers the Saudi model — an autocracy run by a trillionaire family — to democracy.’
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey similarly wrote: ‘Trump says he will sell our most advanced fighter jets to the Saudis, who US intelligence says killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.’
‘Looks like Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar business deals with the Trump family are paying off. This is outrageous.’
It’s unclear whether the meeting was canceled due to Democrats being able to attend or certain Republicans who have previously been critical of the Saudi regime.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham slammed the Saudi government in 2018 for Khashoggi’s murder, calling the then-33-year-old MBS ‘toxic’ and a ‘wrecking ball.’
The US should ‘sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia,’ Graham said at the time.
Graham also vowed never to work with MBS as long as he remains the country’s leader.
Graham’s office did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
