The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee want the Biden administration to do more to free US embassy staff in detention in Yemen. 

Democratic. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday addressing the issue.

“If the Houthis fail to comply, we urge you to exercise all available leverage to secure the release of the detained LES and ensure the well-being of our LES in the future, including via relocation, if necessary,” they wrote, using an acronym for “locally employed staff.” Meeks chairs the committee and McCaul is its top Republican. 

Tens of Yemeni citizens working for the US embassy and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and two United Nations employees were detained in the Yemeni capital Sana’a earlier this month by the Houthi rebels. Both the US government and the UN have demanded the Iran-backed rebels release the detained individuals. The US Treasury Department also sanctioned a Houthi leader last week over the issue. Some of the US government employees have since been released, but a number remain in Houthi custody, according to State Department officials.