Saudi crown prince heads to a US Congress no longer railing against him

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US lawmakers are set to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the US Capitol on Wednesday on the second day of his visit to the United States, aimed at touting stronger-than-ever economic and security ties with Washington while brushing off scrutiny over his human rights record.

US President Donald Trump lavishly greeted bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday and defended the crown prince over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, which US intelligence agencies concluded he approved.

Considered an outcast in the aftermath of the killing, bin Salman saw his rehabilitation rubber-stamped this week. One example showcasing that was Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who, as a US senator in 2019, denounced the crown prince as a “gangster” — sitting a few steps away during the Oval Office meeting, where Trump repeatedly said it was “an honor” to be friends with the Saudi leader.

That marks a sharp contrast to Washington’s view of the Saudi leader during Trump’s first term, as members of Congress became angry with Riyadh’s role in the devastating 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 at the time said. There were multiple and persistent calls from members of Congress for accountability.

In 2019, Congress passed a resolution demanding an end to military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, although there were too few votes to overturn Trump’s veto.

Although memories of that time may have faded, bin Salman’s reception on Capitol Hill on Wednesday was likely to be far more subdued than the welcomes given to other world leaders. Aides said he would meet with some members of Congress on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was not announced.

Neither Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson nor Republican Senate Leader John Thune planned the type of press opportunity, with photos and brief remarks, often held when world leaders visit the Capitol.

A handful of lawmakers have even criticized bin Salman this time around.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, where Khashoggi lived, blasted Trump after the Oval Office meeting with bin Salman, known as MBS.

“Instead of rolling out the red carpet for MBS and leveraging the presidency for private hotel deals, Trump should be demanding accountability on behalf of Khashoggi’s Virginia-based family and pressing Saudi Arabia to advance US security interests. Unfortunately, this is just the most recent example of Trump placing his personal financial interests above the interest of the American people,” he said in a statement.

Bin Salman, who agreed in the meeting to increase the kingdom’s investments in the US to $1 trillion from $600 billion, is also attending an investment conference in Washington on Wednesday that will include CEOs from major US companies. The two sides also announced new agreements on arms sales, civil nuclear cooperation and artificial intelligence after the meeting.