Eric Stock
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, is calling for two top Biden officials to resign over the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
LaHood said Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan should step down, claiming they ignored intelligence that suggested a U.S. troop pullout would quickly lead to a Taliban takeover and put Americans and Afghan allies at risk.
“They’ve been tone deaf on this entire thing,” LaHood said to reporters after a McLean County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Bloomington Country Club. “I think they should resign for their failure of leadership.”
LaHood said the Biden administration will face a "day of reckoning" for the troop pullout, adding Republicans will demand accountability as they try to figure out what went wrong. Some Republicans in Congress have called for President Joe Biden to be impeached. LaHood doesn't go that far.
“Frankly, if you impeach the president, Vice President Kamala Harris comes in. I think it’s (be) careful what you wish for on that. She would then be able to appoint her own vice president, so I’m not sure that’s going to get us into any better situation."
LaHood and fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville say the U.S. has an obligation to help every American who wants out of Afghanistan, along with the Afghan people who helped the U.S. over the last two decades.
“When you think about the long-term impact to those Afghan citizens who helped America over the last 20 years," Davis said. "It makes my heart break every time I think about it and it doesn’t get any better because I see no plan to address this coming out of the Biden administration.”
Biden has repeatedly said leaving Afghanistan was the right decision. He said his Aug. 31 deadline was intended to save American lives and has described the evacuation of more than 120,000 people an extraordinary success. He said the U.S. remains committed to getting Americans out who want to leave Afghanistan.
NBC News reports nongovernmental organizations and international aid groups are handling the process of with getting Afghans who have special immigration visas out of the country.
LaHood and Davis both represent parts of Bloomington-Normal.
