Georgia Rep. Scott said the first time the Houthis launched an attack, the US should have hit back

Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis in the Red Sea with the Houthi rebels, arguing the U.S. should have pushed back earlier. 

"The first time that they that they attacked, whether it was a U.S. ship or somebody who is a friend or an ally of ours, the first time they attacked a ship was the first time we should have sent a rocket in there and made sure they understood that this is not going to be accepted," Scott said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. 

On Wednesday, the Biden administration re-designated the Yemen-based Houthi militant group as a terrorist organization after delisting the Iran-backed group, formerly known as Ansarallah, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization less than one month into office.

This decision comes after the Houthis launched multiple attacks for months on U.S. military forces and other vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.  

"Biden allowed this to go on and on and on and then does a halfway designation of them before he waited months to attack them," Scott said. "So the first time they sent a rocket in was the first time we should have sent a rocket back."

Major energy companies such as BP and, most recently, Shell, have suspended all Red Sea shipments in light of the Houthi attacks, which intensified in response to Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"From a security standpoint, the president's weak," Scott stated. "He looks weak. The public knows that. The people around the world know it, so they're gonna continue to attack us as long as we allow it."