Article snippet: The divide between Congress and the White House’s perception of Saudi Arabia has widened into a chasm in recent weeks, raising difficult questions about the future of U.S.-Saudi relations. Saudi Arabia’s stature has plummeted in the halls of Capitol Hill, where the Senate is on the verge of sending a major rebuke to both the kingdom and MORE. But the Trump administration continues to value the relationship as vital to its broader Middle East plans, particularly to constraining Iran. Some senators, too, say Saudi Arabia is too important for countering Iran, even if they support punishing it for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Those competing tensions means a full break in U.S.-Saudi relations is unlikely. But Trump is likely to have more difficulty working with Riyadh in the future, confounding both sides. “I would say that the likelihood is that the Saudis will be frustrated, we’ll be frustrated, but that there will be continued cooperation and coordination on the issues that are mutually beneficial, and there will be a certain coolness in the relationship,” said Gerald Feierstein, senior vice president at the Middle East Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Yemen. The Senate is expected to vote next week on a resolution that would withdraw U.S. troops in or “affecting” the civil war in Yemen unless they are fighting al Qaeda. The resolution, which targets U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war, picked up momentum as senators ... Link to the full article to read more