Pelosi assails two lawmakers who made unauthorized trip to Kabul
- 3 years ago
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted two lawmakers who surreptitiously flew into Kabul without approval to examine conditions at the international airport where a massive airlift is underway to evacuate U.S. citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans.
“The secretary of defense, the secretary of state — there’s a real concern about members being in the region,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday at her weekly briefing. There was an “opportunity cost” of protecting Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), she said. “This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.”
The sentiment was echoed across the Biden administration Wednesday morning.
“The secretary would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place,” said Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby during his briefing, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day.”
Moulton and Meijer made an unauthorized whirlwind trip to Kabul early Tuesday, leaving less than 24 hours later on a flight used for evacuating Americans and Afghans.
“We obviously are not encouraging VIP visits to a very tense, dangerous and dynamic situation at the airport,” Kirby said
Pelosi insisted that other lawmakers should not go, as did House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“We don’t want anybody to think that this was a good idea and that they should try to follow suit,” she said.
Pelosi explained that the usual congressional delegations abroad need approval from the respective committee chairs and ranking members, and no such approval was granted to the two lawmakers, both of whom are combat veterans.
“We put out the word to committee chairs, there isn’t going to be planes or this or that for people going to the region,” Pelosi said.
“Not to go,” McCarthy said when asked about his thoughts on the Kabul trip.
“Yes, it’s not the best idea to go there, but I understand their frustration,” McCarthy said. He blamed the Biden administration for not providing enough information on the evacuation, and that that lack of information prompted the trip.
“I explained to them that I don’t think they should,” he said, saying other lawmakers have also considered going.
The visit was a distraction for military and civilian staffers attempting to carry out frenzied rescue efforts, according to two people familiar with the trip who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter.
It is not clear how the lawmakers, both of whom served in Iraq before being elected to Congress, first entered Afghanistan. Moulton’s office did not confirm the trip until the plane evacuating the congressmen left Afghanistan’s airspace. Meijer’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“They wanted to freelance on their own,” Pelosi said, dismissing questions about whether the lawmakers’ trip to Kabul demonstrated the chaos of the ongoing ai
“The secretary of defense, the secretary of state — there’s a real concern about members being in the region,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday at her weekly briefing. There was an “opportunity cost” of protecting Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), she said. “This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.”
The sentiment was echoed across the Biden administration Wednesday morning.
“The secretary would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place,” said Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby during his briefing, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day.”
Moulton and Meijer made an unauthorized whirlwind trip to Kabul early Tuesday, leaving less than 24 hours later on a flight used for evacuating Americans and Afghans.
“We obviously are not encouraging VIP visits to a very tense, dangerous and dynamic situation at the airport,” Kirby said
Pelosi insisted that other lawmakers should not go, as did House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“We don’t want anybody to think that this was a good idea and that they should try to follow suit,” she said.
Pelosi explained that the usual congressional delegations abroad need approval from the respective committee chairs and ranking members, and no such approval was granted to the two lawmakers, both of whom are combat veterans.
“We put out the word to committee chairs, there isn’t going to be planes or this or that for people going to the region,” Pelosi said.
“Not to go,” McCarthy said when asked about his thoughts on the Kabul trip.
“Yes, it’s not the best idea to go there, but I understand their frustration,” McCarthy said. He blamed the Biden administration for not providing enough information on the evacuation, and that that lack of information prompted the trip.
“I explained to them that I don’t think they should,” he said, saying other lawmakers have also considered going.
The visit was a distraction for military and civilian staffers attempting to carry out frenzied rescue efforts, according to two people familiar with the trip who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter.
It is not clear how the lawmakers, both of whom served in Iraq before being elected to Congress, first entered Afghanistan. Moulton’s office did not confirm the trip until the plane evacuating the congressmen left Afghanistan’s airspace. Meijer’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“They wanted to freelance on their own,” Pelosi said, dismissing questions about whether the lawmakers’ trip to Kabul demonstrated the chaos of the ongoing ai