Several Democratic lawmakers have criticized President Joe Biden’s decision Thursday to order retaliatory airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen without seeking congressional approval first, saying his actions were unconstitutional.
The strikes, conducted jointly with the U.K. and supported by other nations, came as a “direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea,” Biden said in a statement. The bombing represents the first major military operation from the U.S. against Houthi targets since the rebels began attacking ships following the outbreak of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Several Democrats expressed dismay at the strikes, arguing that they violated a provision in Article 1 of the Constitution requiring that military action be approved by Congress.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is an unacceptable violation of the Constitution,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the Progressive Caucus, wrote in response to news of the attacks.
“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict,” Ro Khanna (D-CA) posted on X. “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.”
“These airstrikes have NOT been authorized by Congress,” Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR) wrote online. “The Constitution is clear: Congress has the sole authority to authorize military involvement in overseas conflicts. Every president must first come to Congress and ask for military authorization, regardless of party.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also called the strikes unconstitutional, adding: “The American people are tired of endless war.” Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) expressed the same sentiments, denouncing Biden’s actions as “illegal.” “The people do not want more of our taxpayer dollars going to endless war and the killing of civilians,” Bush wrote. “Stop the bombing and do better by us.”
Across the Atlantic, progressive lawmakers in Britain similarly admonished Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for ordering the airstrikes without the approval of parliament.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the U.K.’s left-leaning Labour Party, denounced the bombing as “a reckless act of escalation that will only cause more death and suffering.” “It is utterly disgraceful that Parliament has not even been consulted,” he wrote on X.
“Shameful,” wrote Layla Moran, a lawmaker with the centrist Liberal Democrats, who also serves as the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson. “Parliament shouldn’t ever be bypassed - and certainly not when it comes to military action.”
Sunak, who described the strikes on the Houthis as a “necessary and proportionate” act of self-defense, will have wanted to avoid a similar embarrassment that previously befell his current foreign minister, David Cameron.
In 2013, when Cameron was prime minister, he became the first British premier in modern history to lose a vote on proposed military action when he sought parliamentary approval for strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. President Barack Obama similarly backed down from taking military action without congressional approval.
The Houthis said Thursday’s strikes killed five people and wounded six, according to the Associated Press. “America and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” said Hussein al-Ezzi, a Houthi official in their Foreign Ministry, wrote online.
