Biden White House defends strikes on Houthis amid mixed reaction at home

The White House on Friday defended President Joe Biden ordering the U.S. military, in coordination with the United Kingdom and other partners, to carry out significant retaliatory strikes in Yemen against Houthi militants over their attacks in the Red Sea.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration is «not interested in a war with Yemen.»

«We’re not interested in a conflict of any kind here,» he told reporters aboard Air Force One. «In fact, everything the president has been doing has been trying to prevent any escalation of conflict, including the strikes last night.»

The move, intended to weaken the militants' ability to continue targeting commercial vessels in the vital waterway, is being met with mixed reaction on Capitol Hill — even criticism from some Democrats in an election year when foreign policy can become a major issue.

Some lawmakers, like Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson, welcomed the action as necessary but overdue.

«The United States and our allies must leave no room to doubt that the days of unanswered terrorist aggression are over,» McConnell said.

Others, including progressive Democrats and hard-line Republicans, are slamming Biden for acting alone without approval from Congress.

«This is an unacceptable violation of the Constitution,» Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote in a social media post. «Article 1 requires that military action be authorized by Congress.»

Kirby was asked by a reporter about the bipartisan group of lawmakers who contend Biden violated the War Powers clause.

«We're very comfortable and confident in the legal authorities that the president exercised to conduct these strikes,» he