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Rep. Rich McCormick did not mince words Friday when he told Newsmax that the Biden administration “absolutely botched” the evacuation and vetting of Afghan nationals during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal. The Georgia Republican, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, called out senior leaders for dodging straight answers about whether anyone really knew who was being loaded onto U.S. military flights. His blunt assessment is exactly the kind of no-nonsense truth Americans deserve to hear after years of equivocation from Washington.
McCormick pointed to a 2021 exchange when Sen. Lindsey Graham pressed then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about whether 99 percent of evacuees were vetted before boarding, and Mayorkas could not give a clear, reassuring answer. The image of planes taking off from Kabul with U.S. officials unsure who was on them should haunt anyone who values national security. That uncertainty wasn’t mere bureaucratic incompetence — it was a failure with real-world consequences.
Those consequences are not hypothetical. Recent revelations about an Afghan national allegedly involved in a deadly shooting in Washington have reignited justified alarm over how poorly vetted some evacuees were admitted and settled in this country. The case highlighted by Reuters shows the risks of rushing people through an airlift without the kind of thorough background checks we demand for anyone seeking entry into the homeland. Americans who sacrificed and served deserve better than excuses.
The scale of the evacuation and the speed of the operation made proper vetting incredibly difficult — hundreds of thousands were moved in a matter of weeks as the Taliban closed in. That collapse of planning and execution has prompted fresh reviews from the Pentagon and congressional probes, as Republicans in Washington press for accountability and transparency about who signed off on what. The Department of Defense has ordered another review into the withdrawal, and the House Oversight Committee is launching hearings to get answers for the American people.
This is part of a broader pattern under the Biden administration: a cavalier approach to borders and vetting that puts Americans at risk. McCormick was right to link the failures in Kabul to the same woeful laxness we see at the southern border — policies that prioritize open-door politics over real security. If we are going to protect our citizens and our troops, leaders must stop hiding behind talking points and start enforcing standards that keep bad actors out.
The remedy is obvious and urgent: full accountability, an overhaul of vetting procedures, and a return to common-sense immigration policies that put safety first. Republicans in Congress and the Pentagon’s newly announced reviews are a step in the right direction, but they must lead to concrete action, not more window dressing. Hardworking Americans who expect their government to secure the homeland should demand nothing less than the truth and reforms that will prevent another avoidable disaster.
