This week, Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) shared grievances regarding the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, once again directing the blame to the Biden Administration. GOP members have provided sharp criticism of the President and his handling of the withdrawal, and Senator Scott argued that Biden “has blamed everyone but himself for the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
During a meeting with the Armed Services Committee, Senator Scott shared his thoughts on how the Biden Administration handled the withdrawal. Ahead of the withdrawal, Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the Committee had warned the President about the dangers of withdrawal, but the Administration moved forward with the decision.
During the meeting this week with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Senator Scott asked, “when in the history of this country did we ever have a plan to take our military out before our civilians?”
In response, Austin commented that “all citizens” are not usually evacuated at the end of operations conducted by the U.S. military. However, the former Governor of Florida continued to press for answers, asking if it bothered Austin to see President Biden go on “national television” to tell the American people that “he would not leave” until all American citizens were evacuated.
In response to that, Austin noted that his department was committed to working “as hard as we can for as long as we can to get every American citizen out who wants to get out.” Austin also asserted that “we continue to do that to this day.”
Florida GOP members have vocally opposed President Biden’s handling of the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it culminated in Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R) introducing a resolution “condemning Biden.”
Since then, GOP lawmakers have asked for further clarification regarding the withdrawal, and during a heated exchange with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Florida Rep. Brian Mast (R) commented that the American people “don’t need to hear lies.”
