Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has released the following statement in response to joint U.S.-U.K. military action, supported by other allies and partners against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Over the last three months, the Houthis launched at least 27 attacks on vessels transiting the region, including direct attacks on U.S. sailors, with little to no response. 

“I was with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs this evening at his residence discussing the grave threat the Houthis’ attacks pose to both the U.S. military and commercial shipping in the Red Sea – and reiterating the importance of deterrence and of the Biden administration re-designating the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization – when the call came in to conduct the strikes. I’m pleased the president, in coordination with our allies, finally took action against the Iran-backed Houthis following weeks of instability in the Red Sea. Tonight, with these strikes, we are beginning to restore deterrence. The administration must acknowledge it was a mistake to rescind the Houthis designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and re-list them immediately.”

###