The Biden administration is taking some flak for its refusal to redesignate Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization. This comes amid increased aggression against commercial shipping vessels coming from the Iran-backed group in the Red Sea.

The Houthis were labeled as a terrorist organization under the Trump administration. But after President Joe Biden took office, he removed the designation. Now he is under pressure to reapply the label.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, leader of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), which is tasked with responding to Houthi attacks on American assets in the Middle East, told lawmakers in a private meeting that it is harder to combat the Iran-backed terror group since the Biden administration stripped its designation as a foreign terrorist organization. That problem became clear during a congressional delegation trip to the region.

"I did ask specifically about the Houthi attacks and their designation," Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), who led the bipartisan congressional delegation to the region, told the Washington Free Beacon. "When I spoke to the NAVCENT commander he did indicate it would be helpful to have them listed on the foreign terrorist organization list. So I think that has been a little bit of contention."

The United States and its allies are struggling to beat back a wave of attacks by the Houthis that have threatened regional military personnel and commercial shipping vessels. The largest attack yet occurred on Wednesday, when American and British forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by the Iran-armed group. The Biden administration’s hesitance to redesignate the Houthis as a terror group indicates the United States is trying to avoid irritating Tehran as its terror proxies, including Hamas, wage war on Israel and foment chaos across the region, according to Ernst.

"That would be my readout of why the administration is tiptoeing around this," the senator said. "I think whether it’s the Houthis or the leadership in Iran, they see weakness emanating from America and they are taking full advantage of it."

The White House removed the terrorist designation to open the door for humanitarian aid to be sent into Yemen. However, in November, the administration reportedly was considering reapplying the label.

During a recent press conference, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the White House is conducting a “review” of the terrorist designation. He stressed that the objective is not to “contain the Houthis,” but to stop the attacks on commercial shipping in the region.

As I said, we've got a review of that designation that we're still conducting, so…I’m not going to get ahead of that. And the goal here isn't to contain the Houthis. Just to be clear, we don't want to see these attacks on commercial shipping, and we're going to do what we have to do to counter and defend against those attacks.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby answers question about designating Houthi rebels as a terrorist group amid attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

"We've got a review of that designation that we're still conducting, so…I’m not going to get ahead of that." pic.twitter.com/tTxPSSH7Cz

— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) January 11, 2024

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Houthis have intensified hostilities against commercial tankers, especially those linked to Israel. However, the group has clashed with U.S. forces on multiple occasions.