Republicans open investigation into botched 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal

Republicans have officially opened an investigation into the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul renewed a request for documents related to the withdrawal on Thursday in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying that past requests have gone unanswered for over a year. 

“It is absurd and disgraceful that the Biden administration has repeatedly denied our longstanding oversight requests and continues to withhold information related to the withdrawal,” McCaul said in a statement. 

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“In the event of continued noncompliance, the Committee will use the authorities available to it to enforce these requests as necessary, including through a compulsory process,” he added. 

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McCaul continued that as chairman of the committee he takes “this obligation very seriously and will pursue this investigation until all our questions are answered and all parties responsible are held accountable. We owe this to the American people, especially our service members and veterans.” 

The State Department told The Hill it had responded to thousands of requests for information on the withdrawal, had provided more than 150 bipartisan briefings to congress members and was committed to working with the committee.

The State Department didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

As the U.S. military worked to get Americans out of Afghanistan, 13 U.S. service members were killed in a terrorist bombing at the Kabul airport on August 26, 2021. More than 100 Afghans were also killed.