Congress to honor 13 troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

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(NewsNation) — Congress volition honor the 13 U.S. work members who died during the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal successful 2021, inviting the Gold Star families to Tuesday's ceremonial connected Capitol Hill.

During the memorial ceremony, House Speaker Mike Johnson volition posthumously grant the soldiers the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest grant of Congress.

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Congressional Gold Medal ceremony

Both Democrats and Republicans supported the authorities to grant the 13 U.S. troops, who were killed on with much than 170 Afghans successful a termination bombing astatine Abbey Gate adjacent Kabul’s airdrome successful August 2021.

President Joe Biden signed the authorities successful December 2021. The apical Republican and Democratic leaders for the House and Senate are expected to talk astatine Tuesday’s ceremonial successful the Capitol rotunda.

The lawsuit is taking spot against the backdrop of a bitter back-and-forth implicit who is to blasted for the rushed and deadly evacuation from Kabul. Johnson scheduled the ceremonial conscionable hours earlier the archetypal statement betwixt Vice President Kamala Harris and erstwhile President Donald Trump.

The ceremonial volition enactment a spotlight connected the Afghanistan withdrawal up of the debate, and it's apt Gold Star families volition usage the accidental to talk against Biden's administration.

"The world is we haven't been reached retired to astatine each by this administration. They privation this to spell away, they don't privation to deliberation astir it ... and if they can't look it, it's not going to change," Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee, said.

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Afghanistan withdrawal probe

House Republicans connected Sunday released a scathing investigation into the withdrawal, casting blasted connected Biden’s medication and minimizing Trump's role, contempt the erstwhile president signing the withdrawal woody with the Taliban.

The 350-page study accuses Biden of prioritizing optics implicit safety, starring to rushed and fumbling preparations that yet led to a deadly and chaotic withdrawal.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, described the withdrawal arsenic a catastrophic nonaccomplishment of epic proportions, saying helium whitethorn clasp Secretary of State Antony Blinken successful contempt if helium refuses to attest earlier the committee.

The Gold Star families are calling connected the nationalist to work the Republican report, saying they privation answers arsenic to what led to their loved ones' tragic deaths. The families said authorities should play nary relation successful the investigation.

“Last clip I checked, our subject is not retired determination defending the Republican Party; they’re retired determination defending each of us," Mark Schmitz, begetter of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, said Monday. "The information that they’re making this a partisan contented blows my mind.”

He continued, "There are Gold Star parents you don't privation to piss disconnected due to the fact that we don't halt fighting. I'm 1 of them."

As the GOP says the probe volition continue, Gold Star families are calling connected different leaders to travel guardant and cooperate with lawmakers.

White House nationalist information spokesperson John Kirby connected Monday criticized the House study arsenic partisan and one-sided, and said it revealed small caller accusation arsenic good arsenic respective inaccuracies. He noted that evacuation plans had started good earlier the pullout and the U.S. did not manus implicit instrumentality to the Taliban. He said the autumn of Kabul “moved a batch faster than anyone could person anticipated.”

He besides acknowledged that during the evacuation “not everything went according to plan. Nothing ever does.”

“We clasp ourselves each accountable for that,” helium said of the deaths.

Kirby added determination would beryllium “quite a few” radical from the Department of Defense astatine the ceremonial Tuesday.

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Trump, Harris nexus to withdrawal

Trump has thrust the withdrawal, with the backing from immoderate of the families of the Americans killed, into the halfway of his campaign. Last month, his governmental squad distributed a video of him attending a wreath-laying ceremony for the fallen work members astatine Arlington National Cemetery connected the 3rd day of the bombing, contempt the cemetery’s prohibition connected partisan enactment connected the grounds arsenic good arsenic an altercation with a cemetery worker who was trying to marque definite the run followed those rules.

The Gold Star subject families who invited him to the Arlington ceremonial person defended Trump’s actions. At a fiery quality league Monday extracurricular the Capitol, they implored for the House study to beryllium taken earnestly and demanded accountability for those successful enactment during the evacuation from Kabul.

“President Trump is surely not perfect. But he’s a acold amended choice, successful my opinion, than the messiness that Biden and Harris person created since Kabul,” said Paula Knauss Selph, whose lad Ryan Knauss died successful the Abbey Gate attack.

While Trump and Republicans person sought to nexus Harris to the withdrawal arsenic a run issue, and Harris has said she was the past idiosyncratic successful the country erstwhile Biden made his decision, neither watchdog reviews nor the 18-month probe by House Republicans person identified immoderate lawsuit wherever the vice president had a important interaction connected decision-making.

Still, House Republicans argued that Harris, arsenic good arsenic Biden’s nationalist information team, needed to look accountability for the consequences of the deadly withdrawal.

“Kamala Harris wants to beryllium the president of the United States. She wants to beryllium commandant successful chief. She needs to reply for this study immediately,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican connected the committee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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