Trump Pressed to Enter Saudi-Houthi War Despite Midterm Risks — SkimNews
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- Trump has resisted Saudi calls to attack the Houthis inside Yemen, citing depleted Pentagon munitions and a Navy stretched thin managing the Iran blockade and Strait of Hormuz escort duties, which the source notes is going worse than the White House claimed a week ago.
- The Houthis have grown stronger since a 2025 US escalation ended in a forced Trump ceasefire, making any new military entry a risk before the November midterms.
- Mohammed bin Salman can leverage $600 billion in Saudi investment pledges from Trump's 2025 Middle East tour and a $142 billion arms deal — plus Jared Kushner's business ties with the Kingdom, now under congressional investigation — to pressure Trump personally, according to Quincy Institute's Annelle Sheline.
- The Saudis kicked the Emiratis out of Yemen last January, and because the US is closely aligned with the UAE, the Trump administration feels 'the Saudis made their bed and now they need to lie in it,' Sheline said.
- Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute agreed US involvement is likely but said Trump prefers waiting until after midterms unless Iran or the Houthis escalate further.
- Trump called the Houthis 'behaving very badly' on Tuesday and accused them of trying to spike oil prices before midterms; CBS News reported an American died in a Saturday Houthi attack on Riyadh's biggest airport.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia can convert personal financial leverage — $600 billion in pledges plus Kushner ties now under congressional probe — into direct US military entry into a war Trump previously failed to win and cannot afford politically before November, with Pentagon stockpiles already depleted.
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