IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 666 

Impeaching Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, for high crimes 

and misdemeanors. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 25, 2023 

Mr. MILLS (for himself, Mr. POSEY, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and Mrs. LUNA) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Impeaching Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, 

for high crimes and misdemeanors. 

1 Resolved, That Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of 

2 Defense, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors 

3 and that the following articles of impeachment be exhib4 ited to the United States Senate: 

5 Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 

6 Representatives of the United States of America in the 

7 name of itself and of the people of the United States of 

8 America, against Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of 

9 Defense, in maintenance and support of its impeachment 

10 against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. 


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1 ARTICLE I: DERELICTION OF DUTY INCLUDING AND RE2 SULTING IN ABANDONMENT OF AMERICANS IN AF3 GHANISTAN

4

5 The Constitution provides that the House of Rep6 resentatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ 

7 and that ‘‘all civil Officers of the United States, shall be 

8 removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction 

9 of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Mis10 demeanors’’. In his conduct while Secretary of Defense, 

11 and in violation of his constitutional oath to defend and 

12 secure our country and uphold the Constitution, taken on 

13 January 22, 2021, Lloyd James Austin III engaged in 

14 high crimes and misdemeanors through his dereliction of 

15 his duties and intentional abandonment of Americans in 

16 Afghanistan, in that: 

17 Secretary Austin took an oath to defend and secure 

18 our country and uphold the Constitution when he was 

19 sworn in as Secretary of Defense on January 22, 2021. 

20 Article II of the United States Constitution tasks the exec21 utive branch with ensuring the laws passed by Congress 

22 and signed into law by the President are faithfully exe23 cuted. 

24 Despite having nearly 8 months as Secretary of De25 fense to prepare for and execute a smooth and orderly deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR666.IH HR666

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1 parture from Afghanistan, Secretary Austin failed to ade2 quately prepare for such a withdrawal, including through 

3 his decisions during the catastrophic events of July and 

4 August 2021, which initially resulted in as many as 9,000 

5 American citizens being abandoned in Afghanistan. These 

6 actions recklessly abandoned the interests, security, and 

7 values of the United States of America, and contributed 

8 to the unnecessary deaths of 13 United States 

9 servicemembers, as well as uncounted American civilians 

10 who were targeted and murdered by the Taliban. 

11 During the night of July 1, 2021, Bagram Air Base 

12 was secretly evacuated, which was subsequently de facto 

13 turned over to Afghan Government control without notice 

14 to them. Because the United States Armed Forces, which 

15 were under the direction of Secretary Austin and Presi16 dent Biden, as Commander in Chief, abandoned Bagram 

17 Air Base and the prison facilities associated with it with18 out ensuring its persisting security throughout the remain19 ing duration of the United States presence in the country, 

20 thousands of Taliban prisoners were freed. One of these 

21 prisoners, Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri, was an ISIS–K ter22 rorist who detonated a bomb outside Hamid Karzai Inter23 national Airport (HKIA), killing 13 United States 

24 servicemembers and at least 170 Afghans. The strategic 

25 disadvantages of HKIA as a headquarters for the AmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR666.IH HR666

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1 ican withdrawal from Afghanistan, as compared to 

2 Bagram Air Base, were blatantly apparent, and Secretary 

3 Austin’s decision to evacuate the base in preference for 

4 HKIA caused cascading failures in the withdrawal that 

5 represent a gross neglect for his constitutional duties to 

6 the national security of the United States and provide for 

7 the reasonable safety of the servicemembers entrusted to 

8 his leadership. 

9 Further, though the Taliban failed to uphold the ne10 gotiated agreement providing the foundation for the draw11 down of United States military forces from Afghanistan, 

12 Secretary Austin failed in his responsibility to modify the 

13 strategy or logistics related to the removal of United 

14 States military personnel from Afghanistan, including to 

15 delay the United States drawdown or otherwise mitigate 

16 persisting threats posed by the Taliban and their affiliated 

17 forces to the United States. Instead, Secretary Austin 

18 forced an arbitrary withdrawal deadline of September 11, 

19 despite substantial evidence and other intelligence being 

20 available that the United States lacked the capabilities to 

21 effectively implement this deadline without assuming sig22 nificant costs, including of American lives. Secretary Aus23 tin’s strategic and moral blindness to the glaring flaws in 

24 the withdrawal strategy represents an extraordinary dereVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR666.IH HR666

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1 liction of his duties to the Constitution and to the people 

2 of the United States of America. 

3 Wherefore, Lloyd James Austin III, by such conduct, 

4 has forsaken his sworn duties to the United States of 

5 America, its national security, and its people, and has 

6 acted in a manner grossly incompatible with the Constitu7 tion and the Office of Secretary of Defense. Lloyd James 

8 Austin III thus warrants impeachment and trial, and re9 moval from office. 

Æ 


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