Foreign Policy

Democrats Are Quietly Clashing Over U.S. Involvement in Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen

The Trump administration has rejected jumping straight into Yemen, for now. But Congress may be laying the ground for U.S. involvement.

Matthew Petti | 9.25.2026 12:25 PM

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(Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Eric Kayne/Amena Akhi/Sebastian Elias Uth/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom. Illustration: Adani Samat)

The war in Yemen has come full circle. In 2015, a proxy conflict broke out, with the United States backing Saudi Arabia against Iranian-backed rebels there. After years of a brutal slog, in 2022, the two sides agreed to a fragile truce. It broke down this summer as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran turned into a regional conflict.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump ordered a U.S. attack on Yemen, but pulled back at the last minute. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have been pushing the administration in two different directions: either to get involved or back off. While the hawks are a small and unpopular group within the Democratic base, they have the backing of Democratic leadership.

"The Trump administration is not supporting [the] fight against one of the largest terrorist militant groups in the Middle East," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D–Fla.) complained during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about Yemen earlier this month.

He had an implicit nod from Democratic leadership, which had just appointed Moskowitz as ranking member of the Middle East subcommittee. It's a sign of how Congress could........

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