On Tuesday, the White House released the text of a letter from President Donald Trump to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore Charles Grassley, confirming that he has ordered the Department of Defense to deploy additional combat-equipped forces to the Middle East and launch expanded strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen as reported by Newsweek.
Dated March 28, the letter signals an escalation in U.S. military operations in the region, as attacks on American personnel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea continue. Trump’s message outlines the administration’s assessment of the security landscape in Yemen and the broader Middle East, highlighting what he called “piratical aggressions” by the Houthis and the ongoing danger they pose to U.S. forces and maritime activity.
“I will no longer allow this band of pirates to threaten and attack United States forces and commercial vessels,” Trump stated, according to the letter. The president authorized the Defense Department to carry out a large-scale response, including coordinated air and naval strikes targeting Houthi leadership, infrastructure, and weapons caches.
The letter, submitted in accordance with the War Powers Resolution, reaffirms Trump’s authority to defend American interests abroad and asserts that the operations will continue until the threat posed by the Houthis is eliminated. Trump also called for congressional backing as the military campaign unfolds.
The full text of the letter to The Honorable Mike Johnson and The Honorable Charles Grassley is below:
I write to apprise you of developments in Yemen and the broader Middle East region.
Houthi militants operating from bases in Yemen have perpetrated piratical aggressions against shipping and have continued to threaten and attack United States forces in the airspace and waters in and around Yemen. I will no longer allow this band of pirates to threaten and attack United States forces and commercial vessels in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. We will act to keep Americans safe. Consistent
with my commitment to defend United States forces and to uphold navigational rights and freedoms, I directed the Department of Defense to take several actions concerning the Houthis in Yemen, described below.
First, I directed the Department of Defense to move additional forces equipped for combat into the Middle East to enhance the defensive capabilities available to United States forces and facilitate necessary military actions. These forces include capabilities for air and missile defense of Israel and of locations hosting United States forces as well as fighter, support, and reconnaissance aircraft to enable strikes on Houthi targets. The additional forces have deployed to countries in the Middle East region as detailed in the attached classified annex.
Second, at my direction, forces under United States Central Command have commenced large-scale strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to eliminate the capabilities the Houthis use for attacks on United States forces and commercial ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. United States Navy ships and aircraft, along with United States Air Force bombers, fighters, and unmanned aircraft, operating in and around Yemen, have participated in these strikes. Targets have included Houthi leadership and equipment, command and control facilities, and munitions storage facilities. We will continue these decisive military operations until the Houthi threat to United States forces and navigational rights and freedoms in the Red Sea and adjacent waters has abated.
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I directed these actions
consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant
to my constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive to conduct United States foreign relations. I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.