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Defense &
National Security

Defense &
National Security

The Big Story

Senators question Biden's legal authority to strike Houthis

A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to President Biden on Tuesday questioning what legal authority the commander-in-chief has to authorize strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The senators condemned Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and acknowledged the U.S. can carry out defensive strikes to protect its troops and assets under Article 2 of the Constitution — but raised questions about the authority to strike the Houthis when the rebels are mainly targeting international ships and not American ones.

“There is no current congressional authorization for offensive U.S. military action against the Houthis,” the senators wrote. “While the Houthis and their backers, namely Iran, bear the responsibility for escalation, unless there is a need to repel a sudden attack the Constitution requires that the United States not engage in military........

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