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 Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris 
administration responsible for decisionmaking and execu-
tion failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghani-
stan. 
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 contin-
gencies, causing a chaotic, precipitous withdrawal that re-
sulted in the death of 13 servicemembers and the wound-
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•HRES 1469 IH 
ing of 45 servicemembers in the Abbey Gate terrorist at-
tack 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, in-
cluding the Taliban’s compliance with the Doha Agree-
ment; 
Whereas the review process led by National Security Advisor 
Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan 
Finer, and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sher-
wood-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 with-
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•HRES 1469 IH 
drawal of troops would cause a total unraveling and col-
lapse of the Government of Aghanistan; 
Whereas President Biden, supported by Vice President Har-
ris, 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, Dep-
uty 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 Wil-
son, other Department of State officials, and the Na-
tional Security Council willfully disregarded warnings of 
the Taliban’s imminent takeover in Afghanistan and in-
stead 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 noncombat-
ant 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 Depart-
ment did not call for a noncombatant evacuation oper-
ation 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 Depart-
ment had not made determinations about who would be 
eligible for evacuation, and had not effectuated agree-
ments with third countries to serve as transit points prior 
to the noncombatant evacuation operation; 
Whereas the willful refusal to plan for a timely civilian evacu-
ation caused chaos in Kabul and an untenable security 
situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport; 
Whereas, on August 26, 2021, the Biden-Harris administra-
tion’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 thou-
sands 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 Communica-
tions 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 Af-
ghanistan and the withdrawal; 
Whereas, since the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal, 
the Taliban has carried out brutal reprisal killings of Af-
ghan 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 pre-
cipitous withdrawal would cause women’s rights to ‘‘go 
back to the Stone Age’’, and since the withdrawal, wom-
en’s rights have been rescinded and child marriages have 
skyrocketed; 
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration’s catastrophic with-
drawal has emboldened our adversaries, and once again 
made the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks; 
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration refuses any ac-
countability 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 deci-
sion 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 responsibil-
ities on behalf of the people of the United States and 
have not been held accountable for the death and de-
struction their failures caused: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 1469 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives con-
demns each of the following individuals for their role in 
the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Af-
ghanistan and noncombatant evacuation operation, which 
led to the injury and death of United States 
servicemembers, injury and death of Afghan civilians, 
abandonment of American civilians and our Afghan allies, 
and harm to the national security and international stat-
ure of the United States: 
(1) Joseph R. Biden, President of the United 
States. 
(2) Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the 
United States. 
(3) Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor. 
(4) Jonathan Finer, Assistant to the President 
and Deputy National Security Advisor. 
(5) Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to 
the President for Homeland Security and Deputy 
National Security Advisor. 
(6) John Kirby, White House National Security 
Communications Advisor; former Spokesperson, the 
Department of Defense. 
(7) Jen Psaki, Former Press Secretary, White 
House. 
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•HRES 1469 IH 
(8) Antony Blinken, Secretary, the Department 
of State. 
(9) Brian McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of 
State for Management and Resources, the Depart-
ment of State. 
(10) Ross Wilson, Ambassador and former 
Chief of Mission to United States Embassy Kabul, 
Afghanistan, the Department of State. 
(11) Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador and former 
United States Special Representative for Afghani-
stan Reconciliation, the Department of State. 
(12) Ned Price, Deputy to the United States 
Representative to the United Nations and former 
Spokesperson, the Department of State. 
(13) Lloyd Austin, Secretary, the Department 
of Defense. 
(14) Derek Chollet Chief of Staff to the Sec-
retary, the Department of Defense; Former Coun-
selor, the Department of State. 
(15) Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of 
Defense for Policy, the Department of Defense. 
Æ 
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