The President's Daily Brief
March 17th, 2025: Trump Unleashes Hell On The Houthis & ISIS Commander Eliminated In Iraq
17 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: • The U.S. launched major airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen after the group vowed to resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. We break down the targets hit, the impact of the strikes, and how the Houthis are responding. • A joint U.S.-Iraq operation took out a senior Islamic State leader responsible for funding and planning global terror operations. • After seven months, Ukraine’s bold push into Russia’s Kursk region appears to be over—what this means for the battlefield. • In today’s Back of the Brief, negotiations to secure American hostages in Gaza have stalled as Hamas refuses to release a captive and four bodies unless Israel agrees to its ceasefire terms. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Monday, the 17th of March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the U.S. launched airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen this weekend, just days after the group vowed to resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
We'll break down the results of those strikes and how the Houthis are responding. Later in the show, the Trump administration clearly had a busy weekend on the national security front. A joint U.S.-Iraqi operation took out a senior Islamic State leader, one responsible for funding and planning global terror operations.
Plus, after seven months, it looks like Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk region is coming to an end. And in today's back of the brief, negotiations to secure American hostages in Gaza have stalled. Hamas is refusing to release one captive and the bodies of four others unless Israel implements its ceasefire agreement. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
President Trump has unleashed the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since taking office, hitting the Houthi militants of Yemen and sending a blunt warning to their financial and military backers in Iran.
On Saturday, just days after the Houthis vowed to resume attacks on Israeli vessels, President Trump ordered a series of decisive airstrikes targeting the group and promised more to follow until they permanently cease their attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. That's according to a report from Reuters.
The strikes hit a Houthi stronghold in the capital city of Sana'a, several Houthi military sites in the southwest city of Taiz, and a power station critical to the group's operations in Yemen's northwest. The bombardment left at least 31 dead and more than 100 injured, according to local reports, even though those figures can't yet be independently verified.
White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Sunday that the operation took out multiple leaders of the Iranian-backed terror group, calling it a, quote, overwhelming response, as opposed to what he described as the feckless reaction of the Biden administration to the Houthis' provocations over the past 16 months.
Trump announced the action in a post on Truth Social, where else would you announce the action, where he criticized his predecessor's, quote, pathetically weak response to the Houthi attacks, noting that it's been more than a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship was able to safely traverse Mideast waters. Trump said, quote, the Houthi attacks on American vessels will not be tolerated.
We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective, end quote. He added a direct warning to the Houthi militants, saying, "...your time is up and your attacks must stop starting today. If they don't, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before." Now, despite the threat, Houthi leadership issued a typically defiant response.
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