Washington, DC—Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement on the Biden Administration’s plan to reverse the Houthi Foreign Terrorist Organization designation:

“The Trump administration's designation of the Houthi movement in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization was short-sighted and endangered the lives of the Yemeni people. I called for the Biden administration to reverse this ill-conceived move last month and am glad they are doing so.

“As I have said before, I am cognizant of the destabilizing role the Houthis play in the conflict and their obstruction of humanitarian assistance. However, no solution in Yemen will be sustainable unless the Houthis are involved. By designating the Houthi organization as a foreign terrorist organization, the Trump Administration only pushed a political solution to the conflict further out of reach.

“The Biden administration has made the right decision by reversing this move that had already made it harder to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of Yemenis experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. I will be working with newly appointed Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, to ensure such critical aid can resume and the U.S. can help end this brutal war.”

# # #