Yesterday, Senator Ted Cruz joined a joint Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing entitled "Biden’s Afghan Parolee Program – A Trojan Horse with Flawed Vetting and Deadly Consequences." That hearing comes after an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, shot two National Guardsmen in D.C. the day before Thanksgiving. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in that shooting, and Andrew Wolf, 24, was critically wounded. In the days following that shooting, more Afghan nationals were arrested, including Luqmaan Khan, who was plotting a school shooting, Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, who was allegedly building a bomb to target the Fort Worth area, and Jaan Shah Safi, who was providing support to ISIS-K.
According to Fox News, the Department of Homeland Security under the Biden administration welcomed 76,000 evacuees during its Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 and allowed more than 200,000 Afghan nationals into the United States.
Senator Cruz was one of the people who raised concerns about bringing Afghan nationals to the United States following the Biden Administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Somebody predicted the DC National Guard murder FOUR years ago….
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 30, 2025
Biden’s letting thousands of unvetted Afghans into the US was insane, and this horrific terror attack is a direct—and foreseeable—consequence. https://t.co/hKZMJZRxdy
In 2021, Cruz wrote, "Touring the Dona Ana camp at Fort Bliss this morning, where Biden admin plans to house 10,000 Afghan refugees. We should rescue Afghans who’ve assisted the US military, but they should go to a neutral & safe third country. They should NOT come to US w/o a FULL security vetting.
During the hearing, Cruz reiterated that Biden and the Democrats "presided over the most disastrous American retreat in modern times."
In August of 2021, Joe Biden and the Democrats presided over the most disastrous American retreat in modern times.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 14, 2026
It was followed by the largest importation of foreigners in American history, including tens of thousands of unvetted Afghans.
It was an utter disaster. pic.twitter.com/KZvzcMW0a7
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"In August of 2021, Joe Biden and the Democrats presided over the most disastrous American retreat in modern times. In Afghanistan, we saw chaos," Cruz said. "We saw Bagram Air Base abandoned to the Taliban. We saw Afghans clinging to the wheels as planes took off, and we saw 13 American servicemen and women murdered."
"It was utter disaster, and the subsequent evacuation was both over-inclusive and under-inclusive. It was under inclusive and that we left behind Afghans who had risked their lives supporting the US military, and it was over inclusive in that the Biden administration did at best, half-assed vetting that put the American people in danger," Cruz continued. "In a span of just a few days, the Biden administration carried out the largest importation of foreigners in American history, bringing more than 120,000 people, including tens of thousands of unvetted Afghans, into the United States."
Cruz also placed the blame for the D.C. attack that killed Beckstrom and wounded Wolfe.
The half-assed vetting of Afghan nationals imported into our country by the Biden administration resulted in an attack on our National Guardsmen in D.C.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 14, 2026
The Biden administration chose to look the other way, endangering every American in our country as a consequence. pic.twitter.com/Eu35jUwbbN
When questioning the witnesses, Cruz said that if the "cursory scrutiny" found some terrorists, it's possible more were missed, including Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
"So if only cursory scrutiny uncovered 55 confirmed or suspected terrorists. Isn't it reasonable to conclude that additional risks may have gone undetected among the remaining population?" Cruz asked the witness.
The witness replied, "That was our concern."
"And the gravest danger wasn't limited just to those we managed to identify on November 26, just blocks away from the White House, an Afghan national paroled into the United States by Joe Biden opened fire on National Guard service members standing watch over our Capitol," Cruz said. "20-year-old Guardsman Sarah Beckstrom was shot and killed at her post. Guardsman Andrew Wolfe was critically wounded."
"And the most chilling truth is this: the November 26 Afghan attacker in Washington, D.C., was not among the 2,000 individuals flagged by intelligence assessments. He was not among the 55 confirmed or suspected terrorists. We have young Americans in uniform doing their duty who should not have been shot and should not have died. For years, we've been sounding the alarm, and for years, the Biden administration looked the other way and endangered every American in this country," Cruz said.
This was not an unforeseeable tragedy, nor was it an unavoidable one. The Biden administration was repeatedly warned by Senator Cruz and others that rushing tens of thousands of unvetted Afghan nationals into the United States would put Americans at risk. Despite those warnings, the Biden administration chose to bring them anyway. Now, Sarah Beckstrom is dead, Andrew Wolfe’s life is forever altered, and the administration responsible still refuses to reckon honestly with the consequences of its decisions.
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