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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered remarks on the House floor in support of his resolution H.Res. 1469, “Ensuring Accountability For Key Officials In The Biden-Harris Administration Responsible For Decisionmaking And Execution Failures Throughout The Withdrawal From Afghanistan.” Chairman McCaul’s resolution condemns 15 Biden-Harris administration officials for their dereliction of duty in the deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan. During his remarks, Chairman McCaul emphasized his resolution is the first step to holding the Biden-Harris administration accountable for one of the worst foreign policy failures in United States history on behalf of U.S. servicemembers, Gold Star families, and the American people.

WATCH HERE

– Remarks as Delivered –

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, the world witnessed one of the most devastating foreign policy disasters in American history. The Biden-Harris administration withdrew all U.S. forces from Afghanistan with no plan, no care, and no remorse.

As a result, 13 brave U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians were murdered, and 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless others were injured.

Just this month, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby was asked whether there had been any accountability for the administration’s deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He responded, ‘We’ve all held ourselves accountable.’

That answer, Mr. Speaker, is detached from all reality.

Today, the administration touts that deadly withdrawal as a success, and they have yet to hold a single person accountable for their role in this tragedy.  In fact, many of those responsible for this catastrophe have actually been promoted.

If the administration refuses to hold itself accountable, then Congress must.

On April 14, 2021, the president announced the Biden-Harris administration would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan.  No matter the cost or the consequences.

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

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

And they ignored objections by our NATO allies.

According to the administration’s own admission, the Doha Agreement was, ‘immaterial,’ to that decision.

Following President Biden’s go-to-zero order, the Taliban captured province after province in Afghanistan and the collapse was all but set in stone.

Astoundingly, this administration did nothing to plan for an evacuation. Instead, they denied threats to American interests, American citizens, and our decades-long Afghan partners.   

On August 15, 2021, after months of Taliban advances, Kabul fell. The administration’s utter failure to prepare became painfully clear.

President Biden claimed the very next day that his administration, ‘had planned for all contingencies.’

Nothing could be further from the truth.

At every step, the administration prioritized the optics and politics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel and diplomats on the ground.

To protect their partisan aims, they ignored the well-known terrorist threats from ISIS-K and the Taliban to our servicemembers, diplomats, citizens, and allies

The Biden-Harris administration instead chose to treat the Taliban – the very terrorists we had been fighting for 20 years – as security partners for god sake, security partners, during the evacuation.

This administration created the very environment that allowed an ISIS-K terrorist to pass through a Taliban checkpoint. Because Mr. Speaker, we put the Taliban in charge of the checkpoint. And guess who let the suicide bomber through, the Taliban.

The result: the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since 2012.

And on August 26, 2021, that terrorist detonated a suicide vest, murdering 13 U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians, [and] injuring 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless civilians.

Rather than admit their failure, this administration continues to this day to celebrate their deadly evacuation. Never once have they said, ‘I am sorry,’ to the Gold Star families it took the Speaker of the House and the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony to say, ‘I am sorry for what your government did to you.’

Just yesterday, President Biden proclaimed to the world that his withdrawal was, ‘the right decision.’

I believe that is shameful.

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

And, as everyone here knows, you cannot fix a problem without first admitting there is a problem. That’s what accountability is all about.

My 353-page report on this investigation works to provide that accountability.

So today, we take the first step in fixing the problem by holding those accountable, those leaders who were derelict in their duty and are 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 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. 
  • And finally, Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

The American people, U.S servicemembers, veterans, and most importantly the Gold Star families deserve this. They deserve transparency and they deserve Mr. Speaker, accountability.

This measure is the first step towards that, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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