Dem Lawmaker Slams Biden For Not Seeking Congressional Approval Before Launching Strikes in Yemen: ‘He Needs to Come to Us Now’

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) slammed President Joe Biden for not seeking Congressional approval before conducting military strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Earlier this week, U.S. and British military forced bombed dozens of targets linked to the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, including command-and-control centers and munitions depots. Biden noted that the strikes were in retaliation for the militant groups recent attacks in the Read Sea.

A bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers called out the president for failing to see Congressional military authorization before ordering the strikes, which included using tomahawk missiles launched via navy warships and submarines.

The Democratic lawmaker made her comments during a Saturday interview with MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi. The host asked Jayapal to explain why she believes Biden should have went to Congress first.

“It is that the president engaged in these strikes without seeking congressional approval,” Jayapal explained to Velshi. “And this is a long debated issue, of course, because article one of the Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress, article two gives the power to the president to direct military forces as commander in chief.”

VELSHI: I spoke to your colleague Gregory Meeks yesterday and he was saying that that the president did inform Congress. There’s a distinction here in what you’re talking about, about informing Congress versus consulting with Congress. Some might say you’re splitting hairs. Others might say, we got ourselves into a war for a very long time in Iraq, by the way, Vietnam, which was never a war. It was always some kind of action. So the War Powers Act was meant to constrain the president, not give them extra freedoms.

JAYAPAL: That’s right. And there is a big distinction. It isn’t splitting hairs. It is a big distinction between informing and consulting with and and seeking authority from Congress. And so in this case you know that third instance that I mentioned of when there’s an emergency attack in that situation, the president must inform within 48 hours, must inform Congress. And and so I think that this situation is one where clearly there was the time and space and the intent of Congress in the War Powers Resolution was to say that in every circumstance, Democratic president, Republican president, whatever the circumstance is, we need to ensure that Congress is consulted. And again, I would just say that particularly given the circumstances here, given that this is in the Middle East, given that, you know, Israel’s war on Gaza is continuing and, uh, it has significant consequences for us to be drawn in as to who these want us to be drawn in. I would argue, um, I think that this is absolutely a circumstance where, uh, the president is required to consult with Congress and I think he needs to come to us now and ask for authorities for anything further that they intend to do.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.