WATCH LIVE: House Foreign Affairs Committee holds hearing on US withdrawal from Afghanistan
Rachel Schilke
House Foreign Affairs Committee
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday regarding the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan in 2021, a hot-button topic that has been a sore point for several administrations and a consistent attack strategy used by Republicans.
House Republicans have long criticized President Joe Biden, his diplomatic advisers, and defense officials for a botched withdrawal, saying the conflicts plaguing the situation were likely foreseeable.
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Since achieving a slim majority in the 2022 midterm elections, House GOP lawmakers are looking to focus on the end of the war in the committee hearings, particularly the Taliban’s ability to topple the Afghan government in August 2021 and the U.S. military and civilian lives lost during the withdrawal period.
As the conflict spanned four presidential administrations, the committee will also likely look at former President Donald Trump’s response to the war in Afghanistan and what plans and agreements the Biden administration inherited after the 2020 presidential election.
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This will be one of the first hearings that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) will not be attending since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) removed her from her committee assignment, claiming she had made antisemitic comments in the past as justification for her removal. Omar, along with other House Democrats, called the move “bigotry” and “political revenge.”
The hearing will start at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday.