Reps. Meijer, Moulton defend trip to Kabul amid criticism from Pelosi
Fox News' Chad Pergram reports the latest on Reps. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass., taking an unsanctioned trip to Afghanistan.
The Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan has been a "f---g disaster" of "epic proportions," according to Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.
"The thing that everybody needs to understand, even if you completely agree with the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw, the way they have handled this has been a total f---g disaster," he said, as reported Thursday by New York Magazine.
The administration, he claimed, "has created a disaster of epic proportions," which should be investigated by Congress.
Moulton and Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., visited Afghanistan this week, prompting backlash from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Democratic aides in Congress.
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Moulton, meanwhile, seemed frustrated with his own party for not holding the administration accountable.
He told the magazine: "I did everything I could. I mean, I would get on these calls with like a small number of members of Congress, mostly Democrats, who would all very politely say, ‘We love you Biden administration, but can you do a little bit more on this.’"
"I would be the only one who would just say starkly, ‘Here are the stakes. People are going to die.’"
While Moulton said he didn't like criticizing President Biden, he also said, "If telling the truth is what’s required to save a few lives, then it’s worth all the bad politics in the world."
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The Biden administration has seen a wave of criticism in recent weeks, which intensified on Thursday when 13 U.S. service members died in bombings at Hamid Karzai International Airport. A long list of Republican politicians have called for Biden's impeachment or resignation and on Friday two House Republicans introduced articles of impeachment for Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
So far, the administration has touted its evacuation efforts.
On Thursday, Biden said: "These American service members who gave their lives — it’s an overused word, but it’s totally appropriate — they were heroes … They were part of an airlift, an evacuation effort unlike any seen in history, with more than 100,000 American citizens, American partners, Afghans who helped us, and others taken to safety in the last 11 days. Just in the last 12 hours or so, another 7,000 have gotten out."
He also took responsibility for Thursday's events but indicated he was working with a difficult timeline for withdrawal.
"I bear responsibility for, fundamentally, all that’s happened of late," he said.
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"But here’s the deal: You know – I wish you’d one day say these things – you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1."
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
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