Media Contact 202-226-8467

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul sent a letter to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan requesting his testimony before the committee on the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. In his letter, Chairman McCaul highlighted that an overwhelming amount of witness testimony and evidence found that Mr. Sullivan was a chief architect of Afghanistan policy for the Biden-Harris administration and owns the failures of the withdrawal. If Mr. Sullivan fails to respond by Friday, August 30th, Chairman McCaul is prepared to issue a subpoena. 

“Over the course of the investigation, the overwhelming weight of witness testimony and documentary evidence has pointed to the National Security Council (NSC) as the nerve center for critical decision making regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” wrote Chairman McCaul. “Accordingly, consistent with established precedent and in reliance on the Biden Administration’s vocal assurances of thorough cooperation with this investigation, I hereby request that NSC Advisor Jake Sullivan appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for a public hearing. The families of the fallen U.S. servicemembers, the American public, and our Afghan allies deserve answers that only Mr. Sullivan is equipped to provide.”

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Ms. Cotton:

Upon taking the gavel in January 2023, I launched an overdue investigation into the catastrophic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was ordered by President Biden on April 14, 2021. That withdrawal culminated in the Abbey Gate terrorist attack on August 26, 2021, which killed 13 U.S. servicemembers, wounding another 45, and killing more than 170 Afghan civilians. The Committee’s investigation aims to provide accountability to the American people and inform legislative efforts to help ensure that such a catastrophe never happens again.

Over the course of the investigation, the overwhelming weight of witness testimony and documentary evidence has pointed to the National Security Council (NSC) as the nerve center for critical decision making regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Accordingly, consistent with established precedent and in reliance on the Biden Administration’s vocal assurances of thorough cooperation with this investigation, I hereby request that NSC Advisor Jake Sullivan appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for a public hearing. The families of the fallen U.S. servicemembers, the American public, and our Afghan allies deserve answers that only Mr. Sullivan is equipped to provide.

To date, the Committee has conducted 18 transcribed interviews with current and former U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense officials, the vast majority of whom have pointed to the NSC as the decision-maker on Afghanistan policy. Although the following list is not exhaustive, the many examples include:

  1.  Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki testified that she received her daily briefings regarding Afghanistan from the NSC and that NSC Advisor Sullivan would provide clarification on “fluid and ever-changing situations.” She said that her press conferences before the American people were “based on information gathered through the NSC press process where the NSC press team put together talking points and answers to questions that were coming up in the briefing.” The investigation has shown her press conferences to include misrepresentations and materials omissions. She also testified the NSC and, particularly, Mr. Sullivan, was responsible for policymaking and decision-making leading up to the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
  2. Counselor to the State Department Derek Chollet testified he received instruction and direction from the NSC regarding Afghanistan policy, and, more specifically, from Mr. Sullivan, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, Senior Director for South Asia Sumona Guha, and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Liz Sherwood-Randall.
  3. Former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan Mark Evans testified the NSC led the interagency Afghanistan policy review process “assess[ing] where we were in terms of Afghanistan policy with respect to all of the issues we’ve touched upon but more specifically to the situation on the ground in Afghanistan in terms of the security situation, the current situation with respect to the agreement with the Taliban, where we were in that process, and an assessment of the repercussions in both scenarios: first if we retain troops, and second if we did not.”
  4. Former Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Brian McKeon testified that decision-making regarding Afghan populations eligible for evacuation “were made collectively by the interagency” which was led by the NSC. He testified further that the NSC led the decision-making to shutter and move the U.S. Embassy to Hamid Karzai International Airport after Kabul was surrounded by the Taliban.
  5. Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and former State Department Spokesperson Ned Price testified the “NSC tends to be the focal point for engagement on the part of the State Department spokesperson.” He testified further, “the messaging points would arrive at [Price’s] desk having already been coordinated or cleared internally and within the interagency.”
  6. Former U.S. Embassy Kabul Chief of Mission, Ambassador Ross Wilson testified the NSC “drove” the Special Immigrant Visa process and took on “absolutely critical responsibilities.”
  7. Former Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Ambassador Dean Thompson testified he received guidance on policy planning and decision-making regarding Afghanistan from the NSC.
  8. Former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad referred to the non-combatant evacuation operation executed in August 2021 as an “NSC-centric period.”

In addition, the State Department’s After-Action Review, led by Ambassador Dan Smith, which interviewed critical officials involved in the diplomatic planning and execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, found that the NSC was the key decision-making forum. General Mark Milley furthermore stated at a public committee hearing that the NSC led the interagency efforts regarding the “Doha Agreement” and coordination of the withdrawal. Finally, Mr. Sullivan’s own statements, appearances, and public engagement confirm the critical role that he personally played in planning for and executing the withdrawal.

Existing precedent supports the Committee’s need and authority to request Mr. Sullivan’s testimony. Indeed, Congress’s ability to conduct oversight is broad and far reaching. Despite the Committee’s extensive investigation, critical information gaps remain that can only be resolved by Mr. Sullivan. After 18 transcribed interviews, seven public hearings, and analysis of thousands of pages of internal State Department and Department of Defense documents, the Committee has exhausted all other investigative options. Crucial questions remain, including the role of the NSC in usurping congressionally designated responsibilities of the State Department and Defense Department.

Evidence gathered by the Committee in this investigation points to Mr. Sullivan as the principal architect of Afghanistan policy. Accordingly, he has an obligation to appear before Congress and testify fully without raising any claims of executive privilege. The Committee is not interested in and does not intend to question Mr. Sullivan regarding communications he had with President Biden. Rather, the Committee has reason to believe that the NSC engaged in misconduct with Mr. Sullivan at the helm.

Please arrange by no later than Friday, August 30, 2024, for NSC Advisor Jake Sullivan to appear before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for a public hearing on a mutually agreeable date in September 2024. If Mr. Sulivan chooses not to appear voluntarily, I am prepared to compel his testimony.

###