Secretary of Defense James Mattis is asking lawmakers to keep funding American military efforts in Yemen in the name of Middle Eastern stability.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Mattis sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell regarding a bipartisan bill that would end U.S. support for a three-year war between U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and Iranian-backed Houthi militants.
"New restrictions on this limited U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, jeopardize cooperation with our partners on counterterrorism, and reduce our influence with the Saudis — all of which would further exacerbate the situation and humanitarian crisis," Mattis wrote.
"Withdrawing U.S. support would embolden Iran to increase its support to the Houthis, enabling further ballistic missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, and threatening vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea, thereby raising the risk of a regional conflict."
The Senate could vote on the measure as soon as next week. The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
The United States' involvement in the conflict involves providing weapons, intelligence, and logistics to the Saudi military.
U.S. special forces have also conducted raids in Yemen, although those have been focused on militants from the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula terror group.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.