President Donald Trump terminated the military operation targeting the Houthi group in Yemen after 30 days of bombing failed to achieve decisive results and consumed approximately $1 billion in resources, according to The New York Times reporting based on interviews with over a dozen officials familiar with internal discussions.

The administration originally approved an extensive campaign aimed at reopening shipping lanes in the Red Sea by forcing the Houthi fighters into submission, with Trump demanding visible progress within 30 days of the initial strikes. When that deadline passed without significant achievements, the president's patience expired, The New York Times revealed.

During the first month of intensified operations, Houthi forces managed to shoot down several American MQ-9 Reaper drones worth approximately $30 million each while continuing to launch missiles at vessels in the Red Sea, including an American aircraft carrier. The financial burden of the operation quickly mounted as the US depleted weapons and munitions at a staggering rate, The New York Times reported.

Compounding these challenges, two F/A-18 Super Hornets worth $67 million each accidentally fell from America's flagship aircraft carrier into the sea during operations against the Houthis, according to officials who spoke with The New York Times.

By this point, Trump had grown disillusioned with the campaign. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, already engaged in Omani-mediated nuclear discussions with Iran, learned from Omani officials about a potential exit strategy from the Houthi conflict – the US would cease bombing while the Yemeni group would stop targeting American vessels, though without pledging to end disruptions to shipping supporting Israel, American and Arab officials told The New York Times.

The White House subsequently ordered US Central Command to "pause" offensive operations on May 5, bringing the operation to an abrupt conclusion. During his announcement of hostilities ending, Trump expressed near admiration for the group he had earlier promised would be "completely annihilated."

"We hit them very hard and they had a great ability to withstand punishment," Trump said. "You could say there was a lot of bravery there." He added that "they gave us their word that they wouldn't be shooting at ships anymore, and we honor that."

Whether this arrangement holds remains uncertain. The Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Israel on Friday, triggering air raid sirens that forced people off beaches in Tel Aviv, though Israeli air defenses intercepted the projectile, according to The New York Times reporting.

The premature declaration of success against the Houthis demonstrates how certain members of Trump's national security team underestimated a group renowned for its resilience. General Michael E. Kurilla, who heads Central Command, had advocated for forceful action, initially supported by the defense secretary and national security adviser, according to several officials with knowledge of the discussions. Despite the intense bombing campaign, the Houthis managed to fortify many of their bunkers and weapons depots, The New York Times noted.

More significantly, these advisers misjudged their commander-in-chief's tolerance for military engagements in the region, which he is visiting this week with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Trump has consistently opposed prolonged military involvements in the Middle East and dedicated his first term to withdrawing troops from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, according to The New York Times.

Trump's recently appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, harbored concerns that a prolonged campaign against the Houthis would divert military resources away from the Asia-Pacific region. His predecessor, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., shared similar views before being dismissed in February, The New York Times reported.

By May 5, Trump was prepared to conclude the operation, according to multiple officials interviewed by The New York Times.

"We honor their commitment and their word," Trump stated in remarks at the White House on Wednesday.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly provided a statement to The New York Times saying: "President Trump successfully delivered a ceasefire, which is another good deal for America and our security." She added that the US military had carried out more than 1,100 strikes, killing hundreds of Houthi fighters and destroying their weapons and equipment.

Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, emphasized that the operation was always intended to be limited. "Every aspect of the campaign was coordinated at the highest levels of civilian and military leadership," he said in an emailed statement to The New York Times.

A former senior official familiar with discussions about Yemen defended Michael Waltz, Trump's former national security adviser, stating he fulfilled a coordinating role without advocating any policy beyond wanting to implement the president's objectives, according to The New York Times.

General Kurilla had been targeting the Houthis since November 2023, when the group began attacking vessels traversing the Red Sea as a way to oppose Israel's Gaza operation, The New York Times reported.

However, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. believed that engaging the Houthis in a major campaign would enhance their global profile. Instead, he authorized more restricted strikes against the group, which failed to deter the Houthis, according to The New York Times.

With Trump as his new commander-in-chief, General Kurilla proposed an 8-10 month campaign where Air Force and Navy warplanes would eliminate Houthi air defense systems. Following this, US forces would conduct targeted assassinations modeled after Israel's recent operation against Hezbollah, three US officials told The New York Times.

Saudi officials supported General Kurilla's strategy and provided a list of 12 senior Houthi leaders whose elimination, they claimed, would cripple the movement. The United Arab Emirates, another key US ally in the region, expressed less confidence, noting that the Houthis had endured years of Saudi and Emirati bombardment, The New York Times reported.

By early March, Trump had approved portions of General Kurilla's plan – airstrikes targeting Houthi air defense systems and operations against the group's leadership. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the campaign Operation Rough Rider, according to The New York Times.

At some point, General Kurilla's 8-10 month strategy was compressed to just 30 days to demonstrate results, The New York Times noted.

During those initial 30 days, the Houthis downed seven American MQ-9 drones (valued at approximately $30 million each), hampering Central Command's capacity to monitor and target the group. Several American F-16s and an F-35 fighter jet narrowly avoided being hit by Houthi air defenses, raising the possibility of American casualties, multiple US officials told The New York Times.

That possibility became reality when two pilots and a flight deck crew member suffered injuries in two separate incidents involving F/A-18 Super Hornets, which plunged into the Red Sea from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman within a 10-day period, The New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, several members of Trump's national security team were managing fallout from revelations that Hegseth had jeopardized US pilots by sharing operational plans about the strikes in a Signal app chat. Waltz had initiated the chat and unintentionally included a journalist, according to The New York Times.

American strikes had targeted more than 1,000 locations, including command and control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities and storage sites, the Pentagon reported. Additionally, more than a dozen senior Houthi leaders had been killed, the military stated, according to The New York Times.

The operation's cost was enormous, however. The Pentagon had deployed two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and THAAD air defenses to the Middle East, officials acknowledged privately. By the end of the first 30 days, expenditures had surpassed $1 billion, The New York Times learned.

So many precision munitions were being utilized, particularly advanced long-range weapons, that Pentagon contingency planners grew increasingly worried about overall stockpiles and implications for scenarios where the US might need to counter a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, according to The New York Times.

Throughout this period, the Houthis continued firing at vessels and drones while reinforcing their bunkers and relocating weapons stockpiles underground, The New York Times reported.

The White House began requesting metrics of success from Central Command, which responded by providing data on munitions deployed. The intelligence community indicated "some degradation" of Houthi capabilities but argued the group could easily rebuild, officials told The New York Times.

Senior national security officials contemplated two options. They could intensify operations for up to another month and then conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the Red Sea using two carrier groups, the Carl Vinson and the Truman. If the Houthis refrained from attacking these vessels, the Trump administration would claim victory, according to The New York Times.

Alternatively, officials said, the campaign could be extended to allow Yemeni government forces time to resume efforts to expel the Houthis from the capital and key ports, The New York Times reported.

In late April, Hegseth organized a video conference with Saudi and Emirati officials and senior representatives from the State Department and White House to develop a sustainable strategy and achievable outcome they could present to the president, according to The New York Times.

The group failed to reach consensus, US officials told The New York Times.

Now participating in discussions on the Houthi operation was General Caine, Trump's new Joint Chiefs chairman, who questioned the value of an extended campaign. General Caine, aides said, worried about diverting assets he considered necessary for the Pacific region, The New York Times reported.

Also skeptical of continuing the operation were Vice President JD Vance; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; and Trump's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles. Hegseth, according to individuals familiar with the discussions, vacillated between both positions, The New York Times noted.

Trump himself had become the most significant skeptic, according to The New York Times.

On April 28, the Truman had to execute a sudden maneuver at sea to avoid incoming Houthi fire, several US officials told The New York Times. This contributed to the loss of one Super Hornet, which was being towed at the time and fell overboard. That same day, dozens of people died in a US attack that struck a migrant facility controlled by the Houthis, according to the group and aid officials, The New York Times reported.

Then on May 4, a Houthi ballistic missile bypassed Israel's aerial defenses and hit near Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, according to The New York Times.

On Tuesday, two pilots aboard another Super Hornet, again on the Truman, were forced to eject after their fighter jet failed to catch the steel cable on the carrier deck, sending the plane into the Red Sea, The New York Times reported.

By then, Trump had decided to declare the operation successful, according to The New York Times.

Houthi officials and their supporters quickly proclaimed victory as well, promoting a social media hashtag that read "Yemen defeats America," The New York Times noted.