Biden: Attacks on Yemen need no prior congressional approval

 Biden: 

Attacks on Yemen

need no prior congressional approval

US President Joe Biden said he did not consider that attacks on 

Yemen should have been coordinated with Congress in advance.

"They're wrong,"

 Biden told reporters when asked if he agreed with members of

his party in Congress who referred to the mandatory nature of

 lawmakers' prior approval of such military actions abroad.

A group of progressive Democratic lawmakers criticized Biden's move to launch strikes against Yemen's Houthis without first obtaining congressional approval.

Lawmakers said the move violated Article 1 of the Constitution

which requires congressional approval of military action, noting that 

Biden notified Congress but did not seek its approval.

Former US Department of Defense officer and analyst Michael Maalouf

 stated that after the attack on Yemen, the situation could spiral out of control

and the war could expand and cover at least three or four fronts.

This comes against

 the backdrop of a series of

 strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom on sites in Sana 'a, Hodeida

Sa' ada and other cities in Yemen, on Friday, January 12, in response to

 attacks by Ansar Allah on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

....

Biden says Washington will respond 

if the Houthis continue

 their unacceptable behaviour.

US President Joe Biden confirmed on Friday that the US would "respond if the Houthis continue their unacceptable behaviour" and continue to attack ships in the Red Sea.

In response to reporters' questions about the message he wanted to get to Tehran

 after striking Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Biden said his message had arrived.

Biden 

indicated during a visit to Allentown in Pennsylvania that he believed

the strikes in Yemen were not believed to have caused civilian casualties

 considering that this was further evidence of the strikes' success.

Earlier, a group of progressive Democratic lawmakers criticized

Biden's move to launch strikes against Yemen's Houthis without

first obtaining congressional approval, while Republicans welcomed the strikes.

Lawmakers said the move violated Article 1 of the Constitution

which requires congressional approval of military action, noting that 

Biden notified Congress but did not seek its approval.

"This is an unacceptable violation of the Constitution," Representative Pramila Jayapal, who chairs the Progressive Caucus, wrote on social media.

Progressive Representative 

Rashida Tlaib and Representative Corey Bush echoed Jayapal

denouncing the "endless war", calling Biden's actions unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, some Republicans have expressed praise for the strikes. 

Senate Republican Party leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that

 he welcomed the U.S. strikes, writing that the use of force was "due," 

adding: 

"I hope these operations represent a lasting shift in

 the Biden administration's approach to Iran and its proxies."