GOP lawmaker reintroduces bill to designate Iran-backed Houthis as terrorist group

Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) reintroduced legislation that would redesignate the Iran-backed Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization on Tuesday.  

The legislation, named “Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act” would reinstate sanctions put on the group during the Trump administration, designating the Iran-backed group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), according to the text of the bill obtained by The Hill.  

The bill would buck the policy reversal, which the Biden administration executed in 2021. The policy change removed Houthis from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist and Foreign Terrorist Organization lists.  

Critics of the initial designation said that the group’s label could have further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, making it more difficult to distribute aid in Houthi-controlled areas. 

“Ansarallah, sometimes known as the Houthis, bears significant responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe and insecurity in Yemen. We strongly believe that Ansarallah needs to change its behavior,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hill in 2021.

The Trump administration’s decision came on Jan. 19, the day before Biden was sworn into the White House. 

Clyde’s bill comes after the USS Carney shot down three land-fired cruise missiles and several drones while operating in the Red Sea Thursday, which Houthi rebels fired from Yemen. The Houthis are currently in a cease-fire woven within the civil war with the Yemeni Government. The USS Carney is under deployment in the Middle East to help with maritime security.

The Daily Caller first reported the bill’s introduction.