Biden's 'defensive action' against Houthis in Yemen earns him Democratic ire and trolling on X

US President Joe Bidenhas come under fire for carrying out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The strikes, which were carried out without congressional approval, have earned the ire of Biden's fellow democrats who said that the action was "unconstitutional" and that he "needs to come to Congress" before launching a strike.

The American President was also slammed on social media as people dug out an old post he made on Twitter, now known as X, in which he promised to use "military power responsibly".

Biden Administration defends move

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The strike, which were made in collaboration with the United Kingdom comesafter a series of Houthi drone and missile strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Calling the strikes a "defensive action" Biden, as per AFP, said he "will not hesitate" to order further military action if needed.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak too called the strikes "necessary and proportionate" and said that the Houthis' breach of international law merited a "strong signal" in response.

"People can't act like this with impunity," said Sunak, adding the Houthi attacks were "disrupting the global economy"

Democrats criticise Biden

Indian American lawmaker Ro Khanna in a post on X slammed Biden and said: "The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another Middle East conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House."

"Section 2C of the War Powers Act is clear: POTUS may only introduce the U.S. into hostilities after Congressional authorization or in a national emergency when the U.S. is under imminent attack. Reporting is not a substitute. This is a retaliatory, offensive strike," he added in another post.

Echoing Khanna's sentiments, Justin Amash, a member of the Libertarian part said: "If President Biden had enough time to form a multinational coalition to plan and conduct strikes in Yemen, then he had enough time to seek and obtain an authorization from Congress as our Constitution requires."

Netizens troll Biden

Meanwhile, X userstrolled Biden over a post he madeduring the 2020 Presidential campaign. Biden during the campaign hadsaid,"As President, I will use military power responsibly and as a last resort. We will not go back to forever wars in the Middle East."

Digging up the old post, users poked fun at the US president. One user commented, "Well the lie detector determined that was a lie".

"Dementia?" questioned another, while a third user labelled it "a joke".

Watch |Biden: UK, US successfully struck Houthi targets in Yemen

"This didn’t age well," pointed out another user, "We don’t owe Israel anything," saidanother X user.

(With inputs from agencies)