A bipartisan group of senators has sent a letter to President Biden questioning his legal authority to launch a new war against the Houthis in Yemen and the overall strategy of the campaign.
The letter was signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Todd Young (R-IN). “The Constitution requires that the United States not engage in military action absent a favorable vote of Congress,” the senators wrote. “There is no current congressional authorization for offensive US military action against the Houthis.”
The senators noted that the Biden administration has acknowledged the strikes on Yemen would not deter the Houthis. President Biden recently said the bombing campaign was not working to stop Houthi attacks but vowed to continue it anyway.
“The Administration has stated that the strikes on Houthi targets to date have not and will not deter the Houthi attacks, suggesting that we are in the midst of an ongoing regional conflict that carries the risk of escalation,” the letter reads.
The senators said an argument could be made to justify strikes in defense of US commercial shipping but noted most ships transiting the Red Sea are not American. Before President Biden first bombed Yemen on January 12, the Houthis were not targeting American commercial shipping, but now they are.
“Does your administration believe there is legal rationale for a President to unilaterally direct US military action to defend ships of foreign nations?” the senators asked.
The letter asks why Biden has only submitted one notification about bombing Yemen under the 1973 War Powers Act, as there have been multiple rounds of strikes, and how the administration understands the term “self-defense” in the context of the new campaign.
Congress previously challenged the Executive Branch’s authority to wage war in Yemen by passing a War Powers Resolution in 2019 that would have ended US support for the Saudi-led war against the Houthis, but it was vetoed by then-President Trump.
Is a letter an adequate challenge or does this require a bill?
it requires an impeachment if a president violates the war powers act
Yeah like that would happen./s
It’s nothing. It’s just political grandstanding.
What I thought, thanks.
Yeah, if they actually meant it, they’d actually do something. The letter will be ignored, or more likely, laughed at.
When did legal authority stop this administration?
“The U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government.” – Joe Sobran
It appears the “counter-Semitist” was ahead of his time: “My chief offense, it appears, has been to insist that the state of Israel has been a costly and treacherous ‘ally’ to the United States. As of last Sept. 11, I should think that is undeniable. But I have yet to receive a single apology for having been correct.” I wonder what he would have written about the US’ unconditional support for the Gaza war.
The clearest thinkers are the ones most resented in their own time … too many rackets earning too much money.
Congress abdicated their responsibility decades ago. Short of reinstating the draft, this bipartisan letter is going straight into the trash.
I would go back much farther; but it’s still important to always highlight its illegality, … as it were de-legitimizing the gov’t, building the case and consciousness for paradigm shift.
This is an election year. That could change things.
I never thought Congress would stop US participation in the war in Ukraine. But they did.
They could do it again:
https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/senate-looks-to-fund-middle-east-military-activity-as-centcom-is-running-out-of-funds/
What the USA and Israel are doing and HAVE been doing for a very long time should be met with a Congressional investigation, not to sort out the “legalities” of bombing nations without approval from Congress but from a “war crimes” angle. Impeachment? Indictments are more in order, then a summary execution of the war criminals! These are MAJOR crimes against humanity, not just some violation of protocol!
That would have to be done internationally; Congress isn’t going to investigate and prosecute itself. Internationally, the U.S. won’t subject itself to the courts, and other countries don’t have the guts to challenge the U.S. because of its military and economic power. The result is that the evil empire kills and destroys with impunity.
Simply put, true. DC has been thoroughly corrupted by power and money, ….., or is it money and power?
It’s long past time time to clean house, but the place is so thoroughly corrupt and dirty, there’s no one there to do it.
Wow! Some senators wrote a letter to the president? Isn’t that what school kids are sometimes tasked to do? Maybe the senators will get a nice, insubstantial reply…just like the kids do.