Almost immediately upon taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden delisted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a terrorist organization. On Wednesday, following months of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Biden was forced to reclassify the Yemen-based militant group as terrorists.
The Houthi slogan: "Allahu Akbar, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam."
Biden cut off arms sales for Saudi against them and removed the Houthis' terrorist designation in 2021, then started negotiating with Iran.
All that worked out great.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 12, 2024
The Houthis, formerly known as Ansarallah, have launched attacks against merchant vessels for several months in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to the Israel-Hamas war, and even went so far as to attack U.S. Navy vessels that tried to step in to defend the commercial ships.
In response to these attacks and in the aftermath of two U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets, the Biden administration has finally announced that the Houthis will be relisted as a terror organization — though the group will not be reclassified for another 30 days, as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has claimed the government needed time to “ensure humanitarian carve outs are in place so our action targets the Houthis and not the people of Yemen.”
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” Sullivan added. “If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation.”
Meanwhile, the attacks in the Red Sea have become so prevalent that major energy companies like BP and Shell have suspended all shipments in the area.
The Biden administration is facing criticism for removing the Houthis from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in the first place, as many argue that the decision likely exacerbated the current issues in the Red Sea.
We cannot lose the Red Sea. Biden must immediately re-designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; he should have never taken them off in the first place. pic.twitter.com/6NkLOrHdyW
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) December 22, 2023
Critics on both sides of the aisle are also targeting the Biden administration over the recent airstrikes, some of which were carried out alongside British forces, on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen — as the strikes were ordered without authorization from Congress.
Massive explosions after U.S. and UK air strikes against the Houthi terror group’s infrastructure in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a tonight.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) January 12, 2024
“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution.
I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) January 11, 2024
Responding to Khanna’s post, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also condemned the Biden administration’s actions.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war. I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House,” he wrote.
Only Congress has the power to declare war. I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House. https://t.co/kD95sII05J
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 12, 2024
