After taking office in 2021, Joe Biden removed the Houthi rebels in Yemen from our list of designated terrorist groups. This curious decision was only one of many gifts that Biden proceeded to shower on Iran, which backs and finances the Houthis. Sanctions on the rebels were lifted as well. Since then they have continued with their usual terrorist practices, ousting the government of Yemen from the capital and launching missile attacks on Western interests, including both Israeli and American targets recently. This week Republican senators are moving to redesignate the Houthis as terrorists and reapply the former sanctions. But will Joe Biden and the Senate Democrats actually come up with an excuse to oppose this obviously correct designation? (Free Beacon)

Senate Republicans are moving on legislation that would redesignate the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization, citing the group’s weekend missile attacks on a U.S. warship as an alarming escalation, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The legislation—led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and six Republican colleagues—will be introduced this week and will reapply all sanctions on the Houthis that were lifted in 2021 when the Biden administration took office and removed the Iran-sponsored rebel group from the U.S. terror list.

Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, Iranian proxies in the region have escalated their operations, launching dozens of strikes on U.S. assets in the area. The Houthis are responsible for a spate of missile attacks on U.S. and Israeli positions during the past several weeks, including a weekend ballistic missile strike aimed at an American warship in the Gulf of Aden.

This is actually the second time that Cruz and his Republican colleagues have tried to put the Houthis back on the terrorist list. But last year, Senate Democrats killed the bill, perhaps not understanding the definition of terrorism. If this bill manages to pass this time, new sanctions would also be applied to the groups leaders, including Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

The Houthis are not a recognized government of any territory. They are a group of Iranian-controlled fighters that regularly murder people and destroy property in multiple regions. And now they are firing missiles at American ships and Israeli targets. How could they be viewed as anything but terrorists? The Free Beacon suggests that the recent attacks against us might compel at least some Democrats to cross the aisle and support this effort, but I’m not so sure I share their optimism. Joe Biden has shown no interest or ability to change his policies no matter how disastrously they work out. He’s in the business of rewarding Iran and begging them for favors. Why would he change course now?

The Houthis came to light back in the 90s. They are a clan of Shiites from a northern province of Yemen. As soon as they organized as a military force, they began attacking the Sunni majority government of Yemen (which was also admittedly corrupt), eventually ousting them from the capital in 2014. They have also attacked Saudi Arabia. They have been in the business of terrorism since they first organized. They previously restricted their actions to the endless battle between the Sunni and the Shiites, but since they partnered up with Iran they have also been attacking Iran’s preferred targets, including Israel and the United States. (The Little Satan and the Great Satan.)

As with all things in that part of the world, Iran is at the bottom of everything. The Iranian government had grown very wealthy thanks to Joe Biden, and now we see what they’ve been investing their money in. The Houthis are only one piece of that rotten puzzle, but they’re an increasingly important piece. They are undeniably terrorists and need to be designated and treated as such. If the Democrats can’t see that reality or refuse to admit it, we’re in even more trouble than I’d previously thought.