Biden Taking Houthis Off Terrorist List Comes Back to Haunt Him

President Joe Biden is facing conservative criticism for reversing former President Donald Trump's decision to put the Houthis on the U.S. terror list.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. had designated the Yemeni rebel group a "foreign terrorist organization" days before Trump left office in early 2021, despite international concerns that the move could create a humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The Biden administration removed the designation one month later.

On Thursday, the U.S. and U.K. launched a series of airstrikes on positions held by the Iran-backed group inside Yemen, with Biden later explaining that the strikes were "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea." The Houthis have been attacking ships that they claim are aiding Israel in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shortly before the strikes, Pompeo shared an opinion article on the matter to X, formerly Twitter. The article, from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that Biden should put the Houthis back on the terror list and suggested attacking the group "to deter them from further violence."

"This is exactly right," Pompeo wrote while sharing the article. "Removing the Houthi's terror designation was a dangerous mistake. It sent a signal of weakness to Iran."

A group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom, also condemned Biden's decision on X.

"Nearly 2 years ago, Joe Biden REVOKED the Houthi's terrorist designation in yet another massive failure of his administration," the group wrote. "Today, the Houthis are wreaking havoc in the Red Sea resulting in three US destroyers and one UK destroyer shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles, and an anti-ship missile in an attack on Tuesday."

Just after news of the airstrikes broke, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk shared an article from right-wing news outlet The Post-Millennial that complained Biden reversed Trump's decision "one day after taking office."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Friday.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a CNN interview on Friday that the Biden administration was "reviewing" whether to return the Houthis to the terror list.

"We're reviewing that designation right now," Kirby said. "We haven't made a decision about whether we're gonna revoke it or not, or change it again or not. But I can't tell you, we're looking at that real hard."

At the time, the Trump administration's designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization was viewed by some as a gift to Saudi Arabia, which has been fighting the rebel group since 2014 as part of a coalition aligned with the Western-recognized Yemeni government.

Trump himself complained in a Truth Social post on Friday that the U.S. was "dropping bombs all over the Middle East," calling it "the most embarrassing 'moment' in the history of the United States" and demanding that Biden start a "war" on the U.S.-Mexico border instead.

Trump-appointed former Defense Secretary Mark Esper sided with Biden on the Houthi strikes, praising the current president in a CNN interview for launching attacks that he called "a bold action" and "long overdue."