President Joe Biden is facing pushback for his decision to carry out an airstrike in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, even from some members of his own party who denounced the attack as “unconstitutional.”
Biden ordered the strikes on Thursday evening, skirting a federal law that intends to limit presidential authority to wage war without constitutional approval. The attack prompted outrage from several progressive Democrats who accused the president of violating the Constitution and possibly inserting the United States into a Middle Eastern conflict.
“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,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House.”
Khanna’s pushback even garnered support from some conservative Republicans in the House who lauded the California Democrat for defending the Constitution over the president.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted on X. “I have to give credit to [Khanna] here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House.”
“Ro is absolutely correct on this,” added Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
The White House justified the attacks on Friday. “We’re very comfortable and confident in the legal authorities that the president exercised to conduct these strikes,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Other Democrats also invoked Article I of the Constitution, including several members of the “Squad” — marking the latest conflict between Biden and some of his most progressive party lawmakers.
“POTUS is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval,” wrote Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who has repeatedly broken with Biden by calling for a ceasefire in Israel. “The American people are tired of endless war.”
“POTUS can’t launch airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval,” wrote Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). “This is illegal and violates Article I of the Constitution. The people do not want more of our taxpayer dollars going to endless war and the killing of civilians. Stop the bombing and do better by us.”
The U.S. and U.K. militaries have carried out a series of strikes on Thursday evening that targeted “the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, uncrewed surface vessel, land-attack cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
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The strikes came after weeks of warnings from the United States. In particular, the U.S. and roughly a dozen other nations warned them on Jan. 3 that continued attacks on commercial ships would incur a response.
The U.S. has attempted to balance a fine line in the Middle East with the ultimate goal of avoiding a wider and potentially regional conflict emerging from Israel’s war against Hamas. This is the first time the U.S. has carried out offensive strikes against the Houthis since their attacks on commercial vessels began in mid-November.
Defense reporter Mike Brest and White House reporter Haisten Willis contributed to this report.