Two of President Joe Biden’s Democratic allies in the Senate said he needs to seek congressional approval before settling further into an open-ended US military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.
Sens. Tim Kaine and Chris Murphy, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Republican Sens. Todd Young and Mike Lee in writing Biden on Tuesday to say Biden may have exceeded his constitutional authority with repeated US strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Biden administration is trying to stop Houthi rocket, missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping routes. The Houthi strikes are part of escalation by Iran-allied militant groups around the Middle East since Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“American participation in another war in the Middle East cannot happen in the absence of authorization by Congress, following an open debate during which the American public can be informed of the benefits, risks, and consequences of such conflict,” the senators wrote.
The Biden administration says its military strikes against Houthis this month are protecting US Navy vessels and commercial ships in general, and amount to US self-defense.
In their letter, the senators noted the administration’s acknowledgment that its strikes were failing to stop the Houthi assault on shipping.
