A bipartisan pair of US senators is questioning President Trump’s bombing campaign in Yemen, which was launched without congressional authorization.
Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) pointed out in a letter to the president on Tuesday that neither President Biden’s bombing campaign against the Houthis nor the US-backed Saudi war against the Yemeni group did anything to deter the Yemeni group and noted that their attacks did stop during the short-lived Gaza ceasefire.
“Rather, these campaigns only served to embolden the Houthis and rally their recruiting base. The rare instances in which the Houthis have calmed their recent efforts to harass Red Sea shipping lanes were during sustained ceasefire periods in the Israel-Hamas war,” the senators said.
The senators said Congress should be briefed on the bombing campaign and that the administration should be clear about its goals and potential long-term effects, including the possibility of war with Iran.
“The Administration must also explain to Congress and the American people its expected path forward given the failure of previous such efforts and statements from the Administration that the military campaign will continue and possibly expand to include military action against Iran,” they said.
Paul and Merkely also pointed out the lack of congressional authorization for the bombing campaign. “Although the Constitution assigns the President the role of commander in chief of the U.S. military, it is Congress that is entrusted with the power to declare war—and Congress has not done so with respect to the Houthis,” they said.
The senators requested a classified briefing from the administration on the bombing campaign and listed a series of questions they would ask about the justification for the strikes and the long-term plan, including whether or not the president would seek approval from Congress before attacking Iran.
President Trump has been blaming Iran for Houthi attacks even though US officials have acknowledged the Yemeni group operates independently and has its own supply of weapons, which are produced domestically. The president has also threatened to bomb Iran if a deal isn’t reached on the country’s nuclear program.
