Rubio Explains How Trump’s Strikes On Houthis Are Different Than Biden’s

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend that President Donald Trump’s strikes on the Houthis are much different than the strikes from former President Joe Biden because Trump’s strikes are meant to establish deterrence while Biden’s strikes were only retaliatory.

The remarks came during a segment on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” with Margaret Brennan while discussing the attacks that the Trump administration launched against the Iranian-backed terrorist group over the weekend.

“In the last year-and-a-half, last 18 months, the Houthis have struck or attacked 174 Naval vessels of the United States, attacking the U.S. Navy directly 174 times,” he said. “And 145 times, they have attacked commercial shipping.”

“So we basically have a band of pirates with guided precision anti-ship weaponry and exacting a toll system in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. That’s just not sustainable,” he continued. “We are not going to have these people controlling which ships can go through and which ones cannot.”

Rubio stopped Brennan from claiming that the strikes were similar to Biden-era strikes on the terror group.

“Those strikes were retaliation strikes,” Rubio said of the Biden administration’s strikes. “So they launch one missile, we hit the missile launcher, or we sent something to do it. This is not a message. This is not a one-off.”

He said that the Trump administration’s efforts were aimed at denying them “the ability to continue to constrict and control shipping.”

“I can tell you that, as of last night, some of the key people involved in those missile launches are no longer with us,” Rubio added, highlighting how the U.S. eliminated some of the groups’ leaders. “And I can tell you that some of the facilities that they used are no longer existing. And that will continue.”

The U.S. airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen "will continue" until "their ability to control global shipping" is taken away, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

"We're doing the entire world a favor by getting rid of these guys and their ability to strike… pic.twitter.com/YIK1JUcAvO

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 16, 2025