On August 15, 2021, we saw videos of the Taliban taking over the presidential palace in Kabul while Afghan nationals and allies were desperately clinging to a cargo plane to escape Taliban rule.

Leading up to this day, the intelligence pointed to a strong likelihood that Kabul would fall.  So why then didn’t the Biden Administration have plans in place months in advance?  Why were they still working to finalize operations at 3:30 PM EST, the day before the Taliban takeover?

The result was catastrophic: thirteen U.S. servicemembers were killed, hundreds of Americans were stranded, thousands of Afghan allies were left in the hands of the Taliban, and billions of dollars of military equipment was abandoned.

The Biden Administration’s negligence killed Americans, and turned Afghanistan into the new Club Med for terrorists.  Two years have passed since, and yet NOT ONE person has resigned, been fired, resigned or even transferred for such a catastrophic failure.

Every American who served in Afghanistan deserves better.  13 Gold Star families deserve better.  They deserve answers.  As the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, I’m committed to getting those answers.  If we don’t understand the mistakes of the past, we’ll be doomed to repeat them in the future.  And this can never happen again.

You can watch the video on how the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal happened here: