WASHINGTON: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with members of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, on the second day of a visit to Washington that has aimed to tout stronger-than-ever economic and security ties while brushing off scrutiny of his human rights record.

President Donald Trump gave bin Salman a lavish welcome at the White House on Tuesday and defended him over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

A few Republican members of Congress, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, attended a black-tie gala dinner at the White House for bin Salman on Tuesday.

FORMER CRITIC RUBIO SAT NEAR CROWN PRINCE

In one example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who as a Republican senator in 2019 said the crown prince had gone "full gangster," sat near him during Tuesday's Oval Office meeting. Trump repeatedly said it was "an honor" to be friends with the Saudi leader, and the two men held hands.

The crown prince has denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

 

SUBDUED RECEPTION

Although memories of that time may have faded, bin Salman's reception on Capitol Hill was more subdued than welcomes given other world leaders.

The crown prince went to a reception hosted by Johnson and attended by some Democrats as well as some of Trump's fellow Republicans. The event was not announced and the speaker's office did not respond to a request for comment. No similar meeting was held in the Senate.

Neither Johnson nor Republican Senate Leader John Thune had the type of press opportunity, with photos or remarks, often held when world leaders visit the Capitol.

Leaving the hour-long session with bin Salman, Mast said it had been a "fantastic" meeting that covered topics from Saudi Arabia's future internally, to Israel and Gaza, technology transfers, and efforts to thwart Chinese espionage.

"We covered just a lot of ground and covered a lot of ground with his royal highness at the White House last night as well," Mast told Reuters.

Later on Wednesday, Risch and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with bin Salman outside the Capitol complex.

Bin Salman agreed in the meeting with Trump to increase the kingdom's planned investments in the U.S. to $1 trillion from $600 billion. He also attended an investment conference including CEOs from major U.S. companies. The two sides also announced new agreements on arms sales, civil nuclear cooperation and artificial intelligence.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat, attended the House reception. Afterward, he called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on the agreements and questioned whether Trump's family businesses would benefit.

Trump on Tuesday vehemently denied any conflict of interest with his family's Saudi investment interests. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Simon Lewis Additional reporting by Nandita Bose Editing by Humeyra Pamuk, Lincoln Feast, Frances Kerry, Rod Nickel)