Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is demanding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) launch a bipartisan investigation into President Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal in Afghanistan.
Following reports that senior Pentagon leaders discussed a “mass casualty event” prior to the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed nearly 200 people, including 13 U.S. servicemembers, Scott renewed his call for the Democrat leaders to “immediately” launch an investigation into Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan. The botched withdrawal did, in fact, result in Americans stranded, as confirmed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
(L-R) U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) talk to reporters. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images).
“It has been two weeks since the world watched the Taliban take control of Afghanistan because of Joe Biden’s botched and poorly planned attempt to withdraw U.S. troops and evacuate Americans and our allies,” Scott said in a statement, concluding the chaos created by Biden’s “misguided and dangerous actions and decisions” led to the “loss of 13 American service members and the endangerment of thousands of civilians, including Americans, in Kabul.”
“It’s now clear that Biden knew of the imminent threat that led to this preventable and horrific loss,” Scott continued.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the preparations being made by FEMA for Hurricane Ida in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on August 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images).
“His abject failure, carelessness and incompetence has empowered terrorists and made our world a far more dangerous place,” he said, blasting Pelosi and Schumer for failing to take action.
Scott continued:
For two weeks 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 done absolutely nothing. Putting politics above reason and their duty to the American people, Schumer and Pelosi have stayed inexplicably silent and taken ZERO action to launch a much needed bipartisan and bicameral investigation. It’s clear that the intelligence community had several indications that this troop withdrawal would fail, but Biden and his administration chose to proceed and knowingly put lives at risk. That’s unacceptable. Schumer and Pelosi need to hold Joe Biden accountable for his egregious mistakes for the sake of the American people. It’s time to get them the answers and accountability they deserve.
The Florida Republican believes the investigation needs to address the following questions:
- After intelligence reports indicated an imminent threat at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, what actions were taken to protect the safety of American forces and neutralize the threat?
- Why was the withdrawal timeline expedited from the September 11 date set by President Biden earlier this year?
- What advice did our military leaders provide to President Biden and his national security team?
- What did the Biden administration do proactively to prepare for a successful withdrawal?
- Over the past two months, President Biden and members of his administration repeatedly said that the Taliban would not take over Afghanistan with the speed it did this month. What intelligence informed these statements and assurances made to the American people?
- Did any members of the intelligence community (IC), U.S. military as well as NATO partners supporting the mission, warn that the tragedy unfolding now could happen?
- Did any members of the IC, U.S. military as well as NATO partners supporting the mission, advise steps to be taken that were rejected?
- Did the Pentagon and the IC warn that the administration’s lack of U.S. air power in Afghanistan would risk a safe and orderly withdrawal?
- Whose advice did the president heed to maintain the timeline and the status of forces on the ground before Thursday, August 12?
Earlier this month, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, Schumer refused to cast blame on the administration.
“The bottom line is right now, I am focusing on this issue, getting the people out,” he said at the time. “I’m not into finger pointing right now. We’ve got to get the job done.”
On Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sharply criticized Pelosi for standing shoulder to shoulder with President Biden and failing to call Congress into session to extend the Taliban-approved August 31 evacuation deadline.