{"id":65535,"date":"2024-01-24T00:03:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T00:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:04:23","slug":"senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the state Sen. Todd Young represents. He is a senator from Indiana. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 A growing number of bipartisan lawmakers is questioning President Joe Biden\u2019s legal authorities to conduct strikes on Yemen\u2019s Houthis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., led three other senators in a Tuesday letter to Biden pushing him on the strategic and legal rationale for the recent tit-for-tat strikes against Houthi assets in Yemen without a military authorization from Congress. The objections come <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/national-security-daily\/2024\/01\/22\/how-to-stop-the-houthis-00137030#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20order%20to%20stop%20them,championing%20the%20Palestinians%2C%20themselves.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\">following reports<\/a> the White House is preparing for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2024\/01\/20\/us-military-yemen-houthis\/\" target=\"_blank\">a sustained campaign<\/a> that could last several more months in response to the Iran-backed group\u2019s attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is no current congressional authorization for U.S. military action against the Houthis in the Red Sea or Yemen,\u201d Kaine told Defense News. \u201cThis has gone beyond a one-off self-defense. As soon as it\u2019s a prediction of a back-and-forth, it\u2019s going to escalate more. This needs Congress now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Todd Young, R-Ind., also signed onto the Kaine letter questioning Biden\u2019s legal authorities under the 1973 War Powers Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Biden\u2019s notification to Congress outlining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2024\/01\/12\/houthi-rebels-vow-retaliation-after-us-and-uk-air-strikes-in-yemen\/\" target=\"_blank\">his initial Jan. 11 strikes in Yemen<\/a>, he invoked his authorities as commander-in-chief under Article II of the Constitution to defend U.S. citizens, personnel and assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The senators in their letter noted it \u201ccould also be argued that directing military action to defend U.S. commercial shipping is within this power.\u201d However, \u201cmost vessels transiting through the Red Sea are not U.S. ships, which raises questions about the extent to which these authorities can be exercised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe support smart steps to defend U.S. personnel and assets, hold the Houthis accountable for their actions and deter additional attacks,\u201d they wrote. \u201cWe further believe Congress must carefully deliberate before authorizing offensive military action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The strikes have not stopped the Houthis from attacking Red Sea ships, and the Biden administration has responded with seven additional strikes since then. Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2024\/01\/18\/biden-says-us-strikes-against-houthi-rebels-will-continue\/\" target=\"_blank\">acknowledged last week the strikes had not deterred the Houthis<\/a>, but vowed they would nevertheless continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked about the White House\u2019s legal authorities, a National Security Council spokesperson told Defense News \u201cwe\u2019re not going to speculate about future strikes or action since the Houthis could choose to stop their indiscriminate and unlawful attacks on U.S. and commercial ships at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., told Defense News \u201cthe War Powers Act is pretty specific,\u201d noting that if the Yemen strikes trigger it \u201cthen they\u2019re going to have to come to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The top Republican on that committee, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, argued Biden\u2019s Yemen strikes are already covered by his constitutional \u201cauthorities to protect American citizens and American property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018In harm\u2019s way\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Houthis began firing at commercial ships in October, demanding an end to Israel\u2019s bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that began after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack on Israelis. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2023\/12\/18\/pentagon-announces-international-mission-to-counter-attacks-in-red-sea\/\" target=\"_blank\">Defense Department launched Operation Prosperity Guardian<\/a> in December with Britain and other allies to defend commercial shipping lanes against Houthi attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brian Finucane, a former State Department legal adviser who is now a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group think tank, questioned the legality of Biden\u2019s Yemen strikes without congressional authorization. He told Defense News that while \u201cit\u2019s generally accepted\u201d the president has authority to defend U.S. forces from attacks, \u201cin this case the president potentially put U.S. troops in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe U.S. has been involved in fighting the Houthis, countering the Houthis in the Red Sea, since Oct. 19,\u201d said Finucane. \u201cThat\u2019s when the Houthis launched missiles and drones towards Israel and the USS Carney shot them down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress passed a resolution in 2019 telling former President Donald Trump to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition\u2019s Yemen campaign against the Houthis, noting lawmakers had never authorized the operation. But Trump vetoed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudi bombing campaign, from 2015 to 2022, killed nearly 15,000 civilians, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/acleddata.com\/10-conflicts-to-worry-about-in-2022\/yemen\/#:~:text=ACLED%20now%20estimates%20that%20more,civilians%20killed%20in%20targeted%20attacks.\" target=\"_blank\">Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project<\/a>. There have been no reports of civilian casualties resulting from the U.S. strikes this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of the signatories on the Senate letter \u2014 Murphy and Lee \u2014 spearheaded the Yemen war powers resolution in the Senate during the Trump administration. At least two House lawmakers who sponsored the 2019 Yemen resolution, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have also criticized Biden over the lack of congressional authorization for his recent Yemen strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murphy told Defense News \u201cit\u2019s very likely\u201d the Biden administration requires a congressional authorization for its strikes, but said \u201cthere would be a legitimate debate as to whether we should authorize a limited use of force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat the Houthis have done does directly implicate U.S. interests,\u201d said Murphy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., generally a critic of foreign military intervention, also said \u201csustained military action\u201d against the Houthis would require a congressional authorization and indicated he may be open to supporting one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn this particular instance, I do support military reprisals and military attacks to deter attacking our ships, but [the Biden administration] shouldn\u2019t be allowed to do that without permission,\u201d Paul told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, told Defense News in October he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2023\/10\/17\/house-drafts-bill-to-strike-iran-proxies-amid-israel-hamas-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">drafting an authorization for the Biden administration to strike Iran-backed proxies in the Middle East<\/a> amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas, though he has not introduced it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran-backed militias have targeted U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria at least 151 times since Oct. 7, leading to retaliatory strikes from the Biden administration. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2023\/12\/07\/senate-votes-to-keep-us-troops-in-syria-amid-iran-backed-attacks\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate voted in December to keep U.S. troops in Syria<\/a>, rejecting 13-84 a Paul resolution that would have forced Biden to withdraw them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen&#8217;s Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["news","flashpoints","israel-palestine","your-military"],"primary_category":"news"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","flashpoints","news"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"},"5":{"categories":["your-army","flashpoints","news"],"primary_category":"your-army"},"6":{"categories":["your-marine-corps","flashpoints","news"],"primary_category":"your-marine-corps"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","flashpoints","news"],"primary_category":"your-navy"},"8":{"categories":["congress","home","federal-oversight"],"primary_category":"congress"}}},"categories":[8,160,11,47,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3411],"class_list":["post-65535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-mideast-africa","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SIQSOGZOCVEHPFHFFDBC2WCNGE","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen&#039;s Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen&#039;s Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bryant Harris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bryant Harris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 975,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Mideast Africa\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen's Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/24\\\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen - Defense News","description":"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen's Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen","og_description":"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen's Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00","author":"Bryant Harris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bryant Harris","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen","datePublished":"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/"},"wordCount":975,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Congress","Daily News Roundup","Global","Mideast Africa","Newsletters","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/","name":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-24T00:03:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:04:23+00:00","description":"Some lawmakers argue Biden needs congressional authorization to strike Yemen's Houthis amid reports the White House is planning a months-long campaign.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2024\/01\/24\/senators-question-legality-of-bidens-houthi-strikes-in-yemen\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/","ad_zone":"congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Senators question legality of Biden\u2019s Houthi strikes in Yemen"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1918198443.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65541,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65535\/revisions\/65541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65535"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=65535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}