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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered opening remarks before the House Rules Committee in support of his legislation H.Res. 1469, “Ensuring Accountability For Key Officials In The Biden-Harris Administration Responsible For Decisionmaking And Execution Failures Throughout The Withdrawal From Afghanistan.” In his remarks, Chairman McCaul emphasized his bill will serve as a step toward holding the administration accountable for its deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, on behalf of U.S. servicemembers, veterans, Gold Star families, and the American people.

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– Remarks as Delivered –

Let me just say first, I wish we did not have to be here tonight. But more than three years after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden [and] Vice President Harris have yet to hold a single person accountable for this catastrophic failure of epic proportions.

When asked just this month if there had been any accountability for the disastrous withdrawal, National Security Advisor Kirby responded, ‘We’ve all held ourselves accountable.’

That answer doesn’t fool anybody.

If the administration refuses to hold itself accountable, then the duly elected Representatives of the American people must.

In April 2021, the President announced the Biden-Harris administration would withdraw from Afghanistan.

They ignored the Taliban’s violations of the Doha agreement.

They ignored objections by our nation’s military and intelligence experts.

They ignored objections by our NATO allies.

The Biden-Harris administration was determined to withdraw from Afghanistan no matter the cost. According to their own admission, the Doha Agreement was, ‘immaterial,’ to that decision.

Following President Biden’s go-to-zero order, the Taliban captured province after province.

Meanwhile, thanks to this administration’s feckless policy, there were less than 1,000 U.S. troops on the ground and our Afghan allies suffered unsustainable losses.

All the while, this administration did nothing to plan an emergency evacuation, while denying the threats to American interests, American citizens, and our decades-long Afghan partners.    

On August 15, 2021, Kabul fell, and the administration’s utter failure to prepare became painfully clear.

As my report revealed, the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government. But at each step of the way, they prioritized optics – political optics – over the security of brave Americans.

To protect their partisan aims, the administration proffered our servicemembers, diplomats, citizens, and allies on a silver platter to the Taliban and ISIS-K.

The Biden-Harris administration treated the Taliban – a terrorist group – as security partners during the evacuation. They created the environment that allowed an ISIS-K terrorist to pass through a Taliban checkpoint.

Think about that. A Taliban checkpoint. We put the Taliban in charge.

On August 26, 2021, that terrorist detonated his bomb, murdering 13 U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians and injuring 45 American servicemembers.

It was the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2012, and it never should have happened.

Rather than own up to their mistakes, this administration touts their deadly evacuation as a success. I believe that is shameful.

Today, U.S. national security is degraded, America’s credibility on the world stage is damaged, and the moral injury to America’s veterans and servicemembers is a stain on this administration’s credibility and legacy.

When I became chairman, I launched an investigation so that we, Congress, and the American people could work to ensure that what happened in Afghanistan never happens again.

And, as everyone here knows, we cannot begin to fix a problem without first admitting there is a problem. That is what accountability is all about. My 353-page report on this investigation works to provide that accountability.

So, we take the first step in fixing the problem by holding accountable those leaders who were derelict in their duties and responsible for this disaster. They are:

  • Joseph Biden, President of the United States.
  • Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States.
  • Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor.
  • Jonathan Finer, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.
  • Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy National Security Advisor.
  • John Kirby, National Security Council Spokesperson and former Defense Department Spokesperson.
  • Jen Psaki, Former White House Press Secretary.
  • Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State.
  • Brian McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of State.
  • Ross Wilson, U.S. Ambassador and former Chief of Mission to U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
  • Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador and former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation.
  • Ned Price, Deputy to the U.S. Representative to the United Nations and former State Department Spokesperson.
  • Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense.
  • Derek Chollet, Chief of Staff to Secretary Austin and former Counselor to Secretary Blinken.
  • Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

The American people, U.S servicemembers, veterans, and Gold Star families – who recently received the Congressional Gold Star medal, here in the Capitol – deserve both transparency and accountability. Those who support this resolution will deliver both. This will serve as a productive step toward ensuring that this never happens again.

So, with that, I thank the committee for your time and look forward to your questions.

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