House GOP Members Demand Documents From Biden Administration Related to Afghanistan Exit

Rep. Michael McCaul speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on The Biden Administration's Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 10, 2021. Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images

The ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), is demanding answers from the Biden administration about the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

McCaul rallied a group of GOP representatives to send a Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) to the White House, demanding that the administration, including the State Department, turn over all documents, communication, intelligence, and assessments related to ending the war and withdrawing from Afghanistan.

The ROI is one of the ways House members can get information from the executive branch within a two-week period.

“There should be no delay in the investigation into the disastrous events in Afghanistan,“ McCaul said. ”I and my Republican colleagues are hopeful that this Resolution of Inquiry will be supported by Democrat Leadership in order to hold this administration accountable for the actions that led to the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deadly aftermath.”

During the committee’s hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal on Tuesday, McCaul criticized the Biden administration’s reason for the deadly withdrawal.

“President Biden and officials in his administration have continued to push the notion that only two options were available in Afghanistan: one, to fully withdraw in this chaotic and bloody way; or two, to keep tens of thousands of troops on the ground indefinitely,” said McCaul, adding, “But I believe this is a false premise.”

McCaul said Biden could have listened to the advice of U.S. military leaders who advised him to retain troops in Afghanistan until after the evacuation of Americans and allies.

“We have abandoned hundreds of American citizens and lawful permanent residents behind enemy lines. And we have left thousands of our Afghan partners behind—all with a bullseye on their backs and all at the mercy of the Taliban. If they are caught, they will surely be executed,” said McCaul.

“In other words, as General Milley said recently, our withdrawal from Afghanistan was a, quote, ‘strategic failure,’” McCaul continued. “So much is left to be uncovered and there are many lessons to be learned from this debacle.”

Chairman of the committee Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said the hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal is for the purpose of preventing such a mistake in the future.

“This committee’s oversight effort isn’t simply to determine whether we should blame the Bush or Obama or Trump or Biden administrations. This committee seeks to understand and learn what went right, what went wrong over the course of 20 years, so that we don’t again repeat the mistakes of the past,” said Meeks.

The White House did not respond to the request to comment on McCaul’s request.