I'm sure you have seen the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan on the news. It is heartbreaking that after 20 years of American presence, Kabul and many surrounding cities have been overrun by the Taliban in just a few short weeks.
President Biden's retreat from Afghanistan has been nothing short of a disaster. It effectively turned the country over to the Taliban and came before ensuring the safe departure of all American citizens and Afghan allies. This chaos has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and put American and Afghan lives at risk. Furthermore, billions of dollars of American firepower and technology were left behind and are now in the hands of the Taliban.
As Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security, I have participated in several hearings on Afghanistan throughout my tenure in Congress. Sadly, after these hearings and having talked to members of the military on my own, it does not surprise me that despite 20 years of American intervention, the Afghan government has not been able to hold off the onslaught of the Taliban. The ‘experts’ that we heard from in the committee hearings would routinely assure us that the current government is popular and that they would be able to hang on for three or four years. Obviously, they were woefully incorrect, and I hope there are consequences for those who got things so wrong.
I share the concerns of members of the armed forces in the 6th District that are worried about the thousands of Afghan interpreters who worked closely with the American military. These are our allies who risked their lives and their families' lives to aid our mission, and now it is the duty of the United States to protect them from the Taliban.
This week, along with my Republican House Oversight Committee colleagues, I wrote to Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) demanding a hearing on Afghanistan and the deteriorating conditions in Kabul. We must conduct critical oversight of the Biden Administration’s decision-making over the past eight months by asking specific questions of senior Administration officials about what they knew, and when.
Another crucial part of conducting oversight on this tense situation is tracking down how American firepower wound up in the hands of terrorists. Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-KY), and I sent a letter to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John F. Sopko, requesting a briefing on the steps being taken to assure Americans that no additional U.S. taxpayer-funded military equipment is being gifted to the Taliban. While the Biden Administration continues to keep the American public in the dark, my Republican colleagues on the House Oversight Committee and I are searching for answers because it is vital that the American people better understand what went wrong in Afghanistan.
This disastrous withdrawal undermined America's credibility and put a stain on our reputation worldwide. The American people deserve answers. For now, President Biden and his administration must work to clean up their mess and do everything in their power to guarantee the safe return of Americans and Afghan interpreters that remain trapped in Kabul. | 
