A group of Senate Republicans will send a Wednesday letter to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed, demanding hearings on President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and asking for sworn testimony from Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, General Kenneth McKenzie and General Scott Miller.
The Daily Caller first obtained the letter spearheaded by Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who sits on the Committee on Armed Services. The letter was signed by nine other Republicans. In it, they call on Reed to schedule committee hearings so they can examine Biden and his administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan after 13 U.S. service members were killed in a terror attack at the Kabul airport.
“It is necessary and appropriate for Congress to examine the manner in which our military mission ended in Afghanistan. We should do so with transparency, candor, and a dedication to ascertaining the facts without regard to politics. We understand that in the coming months, many committees will claim the authority to ask questions regarding our military’s withdrawal. Yet, because our committee bears the special responsibility of authorizing and overseeing America’s armed forces, we acutely feel the obligation to seek answers,” Tuberville wrote in the letter.
“We write to formally request that the Senate Armed Services Committee fully exercise its oversight authority by holding both opened and closed hearings on this matter and that our committee ask the Department of Defense to preserve any and all records pertaining to the conclusion of our operations in Afghanistan. In particular, we seek sworn testimony from Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, and General Frank McKenzie, Jr.,” Tuberville added.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) FINAL 2021 09 Reed SASC Afghanistan Hearing Letter 21 by Henry Rodgers on Scribd
Before sending the letter, Tuberville told the Daily Caller it is time for the American people to hear from top senior military and cabinet officials. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Murphy, House Veterans Affairs Committee Press For Hearing On Veteran Mental Health Amid Biden’s ‘Failed Withdrawal’)
“We’ve witnessed the worst foreign policy disaster in living memory, and it’s time for answers. That’s what the American people expect, and it’s what the cosigners of my letter expect: to hear directly from our senior military and cabinet officials,” Tuberville said.
The other Republicans who signed the letter were Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, South Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Demand Full, Unedited Transcript From Biden-Ghani Phone Call)
A number of Republicans have called on the resignation of Biden and his senior military officials. The House Freedom Caucus held a press conference in late August calling for the resignations of Biden, Austin and Milley. In the Senate, both Hawley and Blackburn have called on Biden to resign. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has called for Biden to be impeached.
The Daily Caller contacted Reed’s office about the letter to which they did not immediately respond.
