Senator Hawley and Colleagues Introduce Bill Establishing Select Committee to Investigate Afghanistan Withdrawal

Press Release

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and a group of their Senate colleagues introduced a bill to establish a bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan, composed of members of the House and Senate, to conduct a full investigation into President Biden's failed and tragic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan that stranded hundreds of Americans behind enemy lines, left billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment in the hands of terrorists, and took the lives of 13 brave U.S. service members. This joint select committee would follow the precedent set in the aftermath of the Iran-Contra affair.

Last week, Senator Hawley expressed deep frustration with the Biden administration's continued finger-pointing over the Afghanistan withdrawal failures, demanding that Congress investigate what went wrong and hold decision makers accountable. Senator Hawley has gone to the Senate Floor multiple times about the failed withdrawal and remains committed to forcing Senators to take individual votes on Biden nominees for the State Department and Department of Defense until those responsible for the haphazard withdrawal step down.

"The Biden Administration has purposefully obscured the facts around their botched Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American service members and left hundreds of Americans stranded behind enemy lines. The American people deserve answers and the Biden administration seems determined to prevent us from getting them," said Senator Hawley. "We need a select committee investigation and public hearings to get to the bottom of this debacle and hold officials accountable."

Senator Rick Scott said, "Last month, President Biden's misguided and dangerous decisions in his botched withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan led to the United States most stunning, unforced and humiliating defeat in decades. Due to President Biden's carelessness and failed leadership, 13 U.S. service members were lost, billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment was left for the Taliban, hundreds of American citizens were stranded behind enemy lines and Afghanistan has been returned to the Taliban and now rests in the hands of the same terrorist-coddling extremists who ruled it on September 11, 2001. The world is now a more dangerous place and the American people are rightfully demanding answers. For over a month, I have called on Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to launch a bipartisan and bicameral investigation into the Biden administration's failed withdrawal of American forces. They've been shamefully silent. That's why today, I am introducing a resolution to establish a bipartisan and bicameral Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan to conduct a full investigation and compile a joint report on the United States tragically failed withdrawal from Afghanistan. It's time to put partisan politics aside and demand accountability."

Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) also co-sponsored the resolution.

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