The White House on Thursday canceled a scheduled meeting between several United States governors and President Joe Biden to discuss the resettlement of Afghan refugees after two suicide bombs went off in Afghanistan.
Biden was scheduled to host a video conference with governors who signaled support for welcoming Afghan refugees into their states, as military evacuations continued.
But Biden’s schedule was reshuffled after twin bombings occurred near the airport in Kabul, where Americans and Afghan refugees were getting airlifted out of the country. The daily White House press briefing was postponed, as well as a meeting between Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
A coronavirus response briefing was also canceled on Thursday morning.
The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that there were American casualties as a result of the bombings.
Since evacuations of Afghan refugees began, Biden has repeatedly stated his commitment to bring thousands of them to America.
“We must all work together to resettle thousands of Afghans who ultimately qualify for refugee status,” he said Tuesday. “The United States will do our part.”
Biden also vowed to rebuild the process to accept more refugees – noting that it was disassembled by former President Donald Trump.
“We are already working closely with refugee organizations to rebuild a system that was purposefully destroyed by my predecessor,” he said.