Representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. Congress disagreed on the decision of President Joe Biden to attack targets on the ruling Shiite movement of the Houthis in the north and central part of Yemen. This was reported by the Politico newspaper.
According to the Democrats, the actions of Joe Biden “violate the first article of the US Constitution”, which enshrines the Congress with full legislative power.
“The President should have appealed to Congress before striking the Houthis in Yemen and dragging us into another conflict in the Middle East. That’s the first article of the constitution. I will insist on it regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in charge of the White House,” Democrat Ro Khanna wrote on social media.
Val Hoyley, a Democratic member of Congress from Oregon, said “Congress did not give its approval for the airstrikes”. At the same time, some congressmen compared the events to the start of the war in Iraq.
“That’s why I voted against the war in Iraq. Violence begets violence. We need a ceasefire to prevent a deadly, costly and catastrophic escalation,” Democratic congresswoman Barbara Lee wrote in her social network account X congresswoman from the Democrats.
Representatives of the Republican Party also expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that the American president did not coordinate strikes on Yemen with Congress, but in general, Republicans supported such steps by Washington in the Middle East. Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell welcomed the decision to attack Houthi targets, pointing to the timeliness of such actions.
“I hope that these operations will mark a change in the attitude of the Biden administration towards Iran and pro-Iranian groups,” – said in a statement McConnell, published on the Senate website.
Recall, on the night of 12 January, the military of the United States and Britain carried out massive strikes on Yemen. For strikes used combat aircraft. From the sea on the Middle Eastern country launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, installed on destroyers. In addition, the Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Florida, which arrived in the region on 23 November 2023, was involved.