IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1469 

Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris administration 

responsible for decisionmaking and execution failures throughout the 

withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. MCCAUL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris 

administration responsible for decisionmaking and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Whereas, throughout the Biden-Harris administration, key 

White House, National Security Council, Department of 

State, and Department of Defense officials prioritized the 

politics and optics of the withdrawal from Afghanistan 

over the security of United States personnel and civilians 

on the ground and failed to plan for foreseeable contingencies, causing a chaotic, precipitous withdrawal that resulted in the death of 13 servicemembers and the woundVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1469.IH HR1469

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•HRES 1469 IH 

ing of 45 servicemembers in the Abbey Gate terrorist attack on August 26, 2021; 

Whereas, in 2020, the Trump administration negotiated a 

conditional plan to withdraw from Afghanistan called 

‘‘The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan’’, 

commonly known as the Doha Agreement, which required 

the Taliban to cease terrorist activities, renounce linkages 

with al Qaeda, reduce violence, establish a ceasefire, and 

participate in Afghan-to-Afghan negotiations with the 

Government of Afghanistan; 

Whereas the Biden-Harris administration was determined to 

withdraw from Afghanistan regardless of the Doha 

Agreement and the costs of withdrawal; 

Whereas, in 2021, under the Biden-Harris administration, 

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, 

Zalmay Khalilzad, baselessly asserted the Taliban would 

honor their commitments and respect basic human rights; 

Whereas, in 2021, President Biden selected National Security 

Advisor, Jake Sullivan to conduct an interagency review 

of the policy of the United States toward Afghanistan, including the Taliban’s compliance with the Doha Agreement; 

Whereas the review process led by National Security Advisor 

Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan 

Finer, and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall completely disregarded the failure of the 

Taliban to comply with the Doha Agreement, did not 

seek input from key government officials, and blatantly 

ignored warnings from senior national security experts 

and allies of the United States that a complete withVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1469.IH HR1469

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•HRES 1469 IH 

drawal of troops would cause a total unraveling and collapse of the Government of Aghanistan; 

Whereas President Biden, supported by Vice President Harris, issued a ‘‘go-to-zero order’’ without any regard for 

the safety of Americans and without making appropriate 

plans for noncombatant evacuation operations; 

Whereas the Department of State’s leadership responsible for 

the safety of embassy personnel and civilian evacuation 

plans included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon, and Counselor for 

the Department of State Derek Chollet; 

Whereas, during the military withdrawal from April to July 

2021, Secretary of State Blinken, Ambassador Ross Wilson, other Department of State officials, and the National Security Council willfully disregarded warnings of 

the Taliban’s imminent takeover in Afghanistan and instead increased the footprint of Embassy Kabul rather 

than plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation; 

Whereas, in early August 2021, as the Taliban made gains 

across Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, 

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, and 

other senior officials purportedly advised that positioning 

United States military forces to assist with a noncombatant evacuation operation was not immediately necessary, 

contrary to urgent warnings from United States military 

personnel on the ground; 

Whereas Secretary of State Blinken and his State Department did not call for a noncombatant evacuation operation until the Taliban began marching into Kabul on 

August 15, 2021; 


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•HRES 1469 IH 

Whereas Secretary of State Blinken and his State Department had not made determinations about who would be 

eligible for evacuation, and had not effectuated agreements with third countries to serve as transit points prior 

to the noncombatant evacuation operation; 

Whereas the willful refusal to plan for a timely civilian evacuation caused chaos in Kabul and an untenable security 

situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport; 

Whereas, on August 26, 2021, the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic, precipitous withdrawal, willful refusal to 

properly plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation, 

and decision to rely on the Taliban to run checkpoints 

surrounding the airport resulted in a terrorist attack by 

ISIS–K at Abbey Gate that killed 185 people, including 

13 United States servicemembers; 

Whereas the suicide bomber at Abbey Gate was among thousands of militants released by the Taliban from Afghan 

prisons as they marched on Kabul; 

Whereas, in August 2021, the Biden-Harris administration 

left behind approximately 1,000 Americans; 

Whereas the Biden-Harris administration left behind 

$7,000,000,000 worth of United States weapons and up 

to $57,000,000 in United States currency that could be 

used by the Taliban and other terrorist regimes; 

Whereas President Biden, Vice President Harris, National 

Security Advisor Sullivan, White House Press Secretary 

Jen Psaki, White House National Security Communications Advisor, and Defense Department Spokesperson 

John Kirby, and the Department of State Spokesperson 

Ned Price repeatedly and materially misrepresented to 


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•HRES 1469 IH 

the people of the United States the state of affairs in Afghanistan and the withdrawal; 

Whereas, since the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal, 

the Taliban has carried out brutal reprisal killings of Afghan Government officials and individuals who assisted 

the United States and our allies, and created a safe 

haven for terrorist groups who seek to harm the United 

States; 

Whereas the Biden administration had been warned the precipitous withdrawal would cause women’s rights to ‘‘go 

back to the Stone Age’’, and since the withdrawal, women’s rights have been rescinded and child marriages have 

skyrocketed; 

Whereas the Biden-Harris administration’s catastrophic withdrawal has emboldened our adversaries, and once again 

made the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks; 

Whereas the Biden-Harris administration refuses any accountability for the disastrous withdrawal; instead, Under 

Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said ‘‘Americans should 

be immensely proud’’ and Press Secretary Psaki stated 

the withdrawal was ‘‘a success’’; 

Whereas Vice President Harris said she was the last person 

in the room before President Biden made the final decision on the withdrawal and was described by an advisor 

as being ‘‘100 percent all in’’ on the decision; and 

Whereas our Nation’s most senior leaders, including the 

President and Vice President, failed in their responsibilities on behalf of the people of the United States and 

have not been held accountable for the death and destruction their failures caused: Now, therefore, be it 


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•HRES 1469 IH 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives con2 demns each of the following individuals for their role in 

3 the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Af4 ghanistan and noncombatant evacuation operation, which 

5 led to the injury and death of United States 

6 servicemembers, injury and death of Afghan civilians, 

7 abandonment of American civilians and our Afghan allies, 

8 and harm to the national security and international stat9 ure of the United States: 

10 (1) Joseph R. Biden, President of the United 

11 States. 

12 (2) Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the 

13 United States. 

14 (3) Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor. 

15 (4) Jonathan Finer, Assistant to the President 

16 and Deputy National Security Advisor. 

17 (5) Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to 

18 the President for Homeland Security and Deputy 

19 National Security Advisor. 

20 (6) John Kirby, White House National Security 

21 Communications Advisor; former Spokesperson, the 

22 Department of Defense. 

23 (7) Jen Psaki, Former Press Secretary, White 

24 House. 


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•HRES 1469 IH 

1 (8) Antony Blinken, Secretary, the Department 

2 of State. 

3 (9) Brian McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of 

4 State for Management and Resources, the Depart5 ment of State. 

6 (10) Ross Wilson, Ambassador and former 

7 Chief of Mission to United States Embassy Kabul, 

8 Afghanistan, the Department of State. 

9 (11) Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador and former 

10 United States Special Representative for Afghani11 stan Reconciliation, the Department of State. 

12 (12) Ned Price, Deputy to the United States 

13 Representative to the United Nations and former 

14 Spokesperson, the Department of State. 

15 (13) Lloyd Austin, Secretary, the Department 

16 of Defense. 

17 (14) Derek Chollet Chief of Staff to the Sec18 retary, the Department of Defense; Former Coun19 selor, the Department of State. 

20 (15) Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of 

21 Defense for Policy, the Department of Defense. 

Æ 


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