The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden still had confidence in his generals and in Secretary of State Tony Blinken after their disastrous performance in Afghanistan.
“Yes, he does,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied when asked by reporters during the daily briefing if the president had confidence in Secretary of State Tony Blinken.
Two House Republicans introduced articles of impeachment against Blinken, accusing him of failing his job.
“Secretary Blinken has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandonment of our nation’s interests, security, and values in his role in the withdrawal of American forces and diplomatic assets from Afghanistan,” the articles of impeachment read from Rep Ralph Norman, (R-SC), and Rep Andy Harris (R-MD).
Psaki bristled when asked to respond to the articles of impeachment.
“I have no response on a day where we are still honoring the lives of men and women in the military who were lost yesterday,” she said.
Psaki also dismissed questions about whether the president felt he received faulty advice from his generals, and whether he wanted any of them to resign.
A reporter had noted complains from troops on social media — not about the president himself, but about military leaders. (In one viral video, Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller said troops were upset at generals not taking any responsibility.)
The reporter asked: “Does [Biden] believe he was given bad advice, and will he ask for any resignations of his generals, given the high cost of American and Afghan lives?”
She described the deaths of 13 service members in Afghanistan as a “tragedy,” but that Biden did not question the generals leading the mission.
“Losing members of your men and women working for you from the service branches is devastating,” she acknowledged. “It’s devastating for the president, It’s devastating for the leaders of the military as many times as it’s happened.”