With U.S. troops fully out of Afghanistan by President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, House Republicans who opposed the withdrawal date are full of rage — and planning a variety of legislative tactics to get a better understanding of the situation.
GOP lawmakers say they want to hold the administration accountable for failures in the withdrawal’s execution that left 13 U.S. service members dead and hundreds of Americans still in the country.
Hours after the last U.S. plane carrying troops departed the Kabul airport and left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban on Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy held a roundtable discussion on Afghanistan with more than two dozen House Republicans to discuss their next moves, despite Congress not being in session all week.
Anger punctuated the meeting, with members furious that Americans remain in the country. Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw said that “we ended no wars,” arguing that despite giving up a “strategic position” of troops in Afghanistan, terrorists are still at war with the United States. Florida Rep. Brian Mast called ISIS-K, al Qaeda, and Taliban terrorists “swine.”
“They exist for one reason, and that’s to be slaughtered,” Mast said. “That’s the only reason those terrorists are around, because we haven’t killed them yet.”
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First on Republicans’ list of accountability actions is attempting to reintroduce an updated bill from Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and supported by McCarthy during a pro forma session of Congress on Tuesday that he hopes will get widespread bipartisan support. However, it faces a steep challenge in being heard on the floor, which is controlled by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The bill, Gallagher said, requires the administration to outline an evacuation plan for remaining Americans; report the number of Americans behind enemy lines in Afghanistan; direct inspector general reports on agreements with the Taliban and the status of and equipment or classified material left behind; prohibit direct or indirect funding of the Taliban; and it states Congress believes there should be no formal recognition of the Taliban.
Another opportunity for Republicans to take action is a Wednesday committee markup session for the annual spending bill that funds the U.S. Military, the National Defense Authorization Act. Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said Republicans have filed more than 50 amendments.
Proposed amendments include requiring an accounting of what equipment was left behind, an explanation for why Bagram Air Force Base was specifically abandoned, and regular congressional briefings on the groups that will form because of the withdrawal.
More investigations are likely to come. Rogers, Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes of California, and House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Michael McCaul of Texas sent a letter to Biden last week telling his administration to preserve records. Democratic-led heads of Senate committees have also signaled they will look into why the administration was ill-prepared for or did not anticipate a swift Taliban takeover of the country.
Not on McCarthy’s agenda — yet — is calling for President Joe Biden’s impeachment or resignation, despite other calls from a wave of Republicans following an ISIS-K suicide bombing outside Kabul airport last week.
“Right now, you’ve got Americans sitting that were told to go the airport that are wondering, what are they supposed to do?” McCarthy told reporters, referring to Americans left in Afghanistan. “Our only focus should be on that.”
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Gallagher criticized national security adviser Jake Sullivan for saying on television Sunday that the U.S. will have “substantial leverage” with the Taliban to continue to evacuate Americans and hold its commitments.
“What fantasy world Model U.N. conference is this administration living in? The Taliban doesn’t want an invite to Davos,” Gallagher said.
