Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) challenged President Joe Biden to return the Houthis to a designated group of terrorists after rebels shot down an American drone.

Nickel shared the remarks during an interview on Fox News' "Outnumbered" on Friday.

Dem Rep. Nickel: Biden Should Reverse His Decision to Remove Houthis from Terrorist List https://t.co/0sMXHzdMIe via @BreitbartNews

— Elena (@helen44767171) November 12, 2023

The comments

"In the wake of the Houthis firing down a reaper drone, our reaper drone, would you encourage Blinken — along with Jared Moskowitz and others — to designate this group as a terrorist group?” co-host Kayleigh McEnany asked.

“Absolutely. I think it underscores the case and the necessity right now to make sure we freeze that 6 billion in Iranian assets as well. Iran is behind all of these attacks and that seems to be very clear," Nickel answered.

As U.S. bombs Iranian sites in Syria, Houthis shoot down drone over Red Sea.https://t.co/u8mQpO6MWb

— Seamus Von Mulsow (@SeamusMulsow) November 9, 2023

The attack

"The Houthi-led government in Yemen shot down a U.S. MQ-9 surveillance drone flying in international airspace over the Red Sea on Wednesday," Politico reported.

"The attack follows an episode last month in which a U.S. destroyer shot down several ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Iranian-backed group toward Israel," it added.

Houthis tried to recover U.S. drone they shot down, Pentagon says https://t.co/MSiGjuoJ4i pic.twitter.com/oHrlvRz6Tg

— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) November 10, 2023

Recovery attempted

"We know that there was an attempt by Houthis to try and recover them MQ-9 but it is unlikely that they will be able to retrieve anything of significance," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

"While U.S. drones have been shot down by Houthis in the past, this incident comes at a particularly tense time in the region. Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war," Reuters noted.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed terror group in Yemen, was added as a terrorist group during the Trump administration but was later removed under Biden.

The move comes along others by the Biden administration in the Middle East that has not appeared to help foreign policy. In addition to the Houthis, Israel has been attacked by Hamas, is in a standoff with Hezbollah and U.S. military bases have been repeatedly attacked by groups in Syria and Iraq.

The problems are not expected to end anytime soon with Biden not even recognizing which groups to label as terrorists as the battles grow.