Inhove’s comments come as the Trump administration prepares to sell weapons to Morocco in the wake of the normalization agreement with Israel, according to aides in Congress. Congress will have 30 days to block the sale once the White House has formally notified Capitol Hill of the expected move.
Trump took a similar path with the United Arab Emirates, moving to sell munitions to the Gulf state worth $ 23 billion after it signed a normalization agreement with Israel. In two votes on Wednesday, the Senate failed to block the sale.
The United States ’recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara is a break with the United Nations, the African Union, the International Court of Justice and the European Union. Morocco and the Polisario Front have long fought over sovereignty over the former Spanish territories in North Africa.
In his speech, Inhovi praised President Donald Trump for his efforts to encourage recognition of Israel, but said he hoped the United States would change its position on Western Sahara and called for a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.
“There is no country abroad that recognizes Morocco’s right to Western Sahara,” he said. “I will do my best to make sure we get back to the politics that we had.”
It also coincides with an Inhovie dispute with the White House over the sovereignty of Western Sahara with its efforts to obtain the National Defense Authorization Act through Congress. Trump has threatened to veto the National Defense Act because it does not include repealing Article 230, which provides legal immunity to social media companies. Inhofe argued that Article 230 is irrelevant to the defense bill and Republicans pledged in the Senate earlier this week to override a potential veto.
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
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