House Republicans wasted no time getting to work conducting oversight of the Biden administration after the White House's first two years of crises saw a gross lack of accountability from Democrat leaders in Congress, and their next target for investigation is Biden's disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
To get some answers for the American people about the horror they watched unfold in August 2021, Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Pat Fallon (R-TX), and Lisa McClain (R-MI) fired off letters to Biden administration agencies and leaders on Friday demanding answers and information.
Recipients of the House Oversight Committee's letters include the White House and Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security along with the U.S. Agency for International Development and Joint Chiefs of Staff. The lawmakers requested "all documents, communications, and information related to the Biden Administration's disastrous military and diplomatic withdrawal from Afghanistan."
In their letter to the Department of Defense, Oversight Republicans ask for information "related to contingency plans in the Afghanistan withdrawal and evacuation" and "any rationale or discussion regarding the decision to remove air support prior to the evacuation of U.S. citizens." The letter also requests documents and records "referring or relating to al-Qaeda and other terrorists organizations’ posture in Afghanistan from January 20, 2021, to present" and items "relating to the decision to use Taliban forces and the former Afghan government’s National Directorate of Security to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport during the Afghanistan evacuation," among other facets of Biden's botched withdrawal.
"The Biden Administration was tragically unprepared for the Afghanistan withdrawal and their decisions in the region directly resulted in a national security and humanitarian catastrophe," Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement on Friday.
"U.S. servicemen and women lost their lives, Americans were abandoned, taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for, the Taliban gained access to military equipment, progress for Afghan women was derailed, and the entire area is now under hostile Taliban control," Comer continued. "The American people deserve answers and the Biden Administration’s ongoing obstruction of this investigation is unacceptable."
The Biden administration has previously withheld information from Republican members of the House Oversight Committee while Democrats controlled the lower chamber. But now that Republicans have their majority, the president and his administration won't be able to avoid answering questions or turning over documents.
"With the power of the gavel, Oversight Republicans are determined to provide answers, transparency, and accountability," Comer pledged of his committee's newest investigation into the Biden administration. "Every relevant department and agency should be prepared to cooperate and provide all requested information. The American people expect nothing less," Comer added.
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