Senate Republicans: Biden Failed to Meet Deadline for Afghanistan Details

Republican senators say the Biden administration failed to deliver a report detailing the vetting of more than 78,000 Afghans evacuated as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.

In a Monday statement, Republican senators were critical of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for not providing the report to Congress, The Hill noted.

"The report requested by Congress on the composition and vetting of the more than 78,000 #Afghans evacuated by U.S. forces is more than a month delayed," Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted. "We need answers, but more than anything, we need #DHSgov to fully cooperate."

And, in a Dec. 22 letter sent to Mayorkas, GOP senators informed the secretary he had "failed to meet the statutorily mandated deadline" to submit the report to Congress, The Hill noted. The senators called it "unacceptable."

The mandate for the report was included in an emergency appropriations package that was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Sept. 30.

The measure required the administration to disclose details of the government's Afghanistan evacuation and resettlement initiative.

"The Biden administration was required by law to report to Congress by Nov. 30 on the composition and vetting of the Afghan evacuees — including who actually got on our planes and just how many special immigrant visa holders, and others who helped U.S. forces and our allies over the last 20 years, were left behind. It has failed to do so," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

• Hawley Questions Vetting of Afghanistan Evacuees
• America's Afghan Exit Causes Mental Suffering at State Department