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WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Wednesday voted to condemn President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, capping their work in Washington with legislation that carried no legal weight but drove a political point ahead of the November elections.
The resolution passed 219 - 194 with 10 Democrats and all Republicans voting in favor. It condemned Biden, Harris and other officials in the administration for “decision-making and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan” as well as blamed them for the deaths of 13 U.S. service members who were killed by a suicide bomber at Kabul's airport during the final days of the evacuation.
On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who as president negotiated the withdrawal deal with the Taliban, has repeatedly blamed Harris for the chaotic and deadly evacuation while she was serving as Biden's vice president. Harris, now the Democratic candidate for president, has shot back that Trump is to blame for his role in the deal and that she agrees with Biden's decision to end America's longest war.
Republicans have used their House majority to make Trump's case in recent weeks, releasing a report that mostly blamed Biden. On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee also advanced contempt of Congress charges against Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary over an appearance to testify on the withdrawal.
“Three years ago, the world witnessed one of the most devastating policy disasters in American history. The Biden-Harris administration withdrew all U.S. forces from Afghanistan with no plan, no care and no remorse,” Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the House floor Wednesday.
“As a result, 13 brave U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians were murdered and 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless others were injured,” added McCaul, a Texas Republican.
Most assessments have concluded Trump and Biden share blame for the collapse that concluded the 20-year war, which saw Taliban fighters take over Afghanistan again before the last American troops even flew out of the Kabul airport. Over 2,000 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan.
The reviews, including the 18-month House investigation led by House Republicans, have not pinpointed any instance where Harris had a particular impact on decision-making on the withdrawal.
The main U.S. government watchdog for the war points to Trump’s 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw all U.S. forces and military contractors as “the single most important factor” in the collapse of U.S.-allied Afghan security forces and Taliban takeover. Biden’s April 2021 announcement that he would proceed with the withdrawal set in motion by Trump was the second-biggest factor, the watchdog said.
Democrats on Wednesday faulted House Republicans for rushing the resolution to the House floor and criticized it as an attempt to further politicize blame for the withdrawal.
“Republicans are trying desperately to clean up a candidate, a candidate that truly has a flawed record — Trump’s record — on this withdrawal,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.