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Senator Markwayne Mullin laid into the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan evacuation on The Will Cain Show, bluntly calling the aftermath “a mess” that conservatives have been forced to clean up. Mullin used sharp language to describe the chaotic 2021 withdrawal and argued that the country still pays the price for the administration’s failures.
Mullin did not mince words about vetting Afghan evacuees, insisting that national security must come before virtue-signaling open borders policies. His point was simple: compassion is noble, but it cannot come at the cost of American lives or border security, and any resettlement program must include rigorous screening.
This debate comes as the administration in power has taken steps to pause or tighten Afghan immigration processing, a move Mullin praised as long overdue to get the vetting right. He argued the pause is a necessary corrective after the rush-to-rescue mentality in 2021 that left dangerous gaps in oversight and put service members and citizens at risk.
The facts of August 2021 remain stark: a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport killed 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghans during the chaotic evacuation, a grim reminder that rushed operations without airtight intelligence and procedures have deadly consequences. Independent reviews have since examined what went wrong and underscored how complex and perilous that exit really was.
From a conservative standpoint, Mullin’s stance is commonsense: we owe gratefulness to allies who served with America, but we also owe safety to our citizens and those in uniform. Lawmakers who pretend the two goals are mutually exclusive are failing in basic stewardship; you can honor commitments to allies while insisting on secure, enforceable vetting standards.
Senator Mullin’s message is a warning to policymakers tempted by soft-on-security optics: sloppy immigration policies are not humanitarian triumphs when they weaken the homeland. Republicans should press for stronger, transparent vetting processes, immediate accountability for the failures of 2021, and commonsense reforms that prioritize American safety first.
If conservatives want to regain trust on national security they must combine moral clarity with practical action—supporting refugees who truly earned our help while refusing to accept open-ended programs that leave the public exposed. Mullin’s remarks are a reminder that strength and compassion are not opposites; they are the only responsible way to protect the nation and keep faith with those who served.
