In a press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded grim. “This is deadly serious—we do not want members to go,” she said. She was referring to a trip by Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton and Republican Peter Meijer to Afghanistan, where they say they went to assess the Biden administration’s withdrawal from the region. Pelosi said House Democratic leadership hadn’t cleared the trip, and the speaker sounded pissed.
“It’s not just about them going to Afghanistan, but in going to the region, because there’s a call on our resources diplomatically, politically, militarily in the region as well,” she said. “The point is is that we don’t want anybody to think this was a good idea and that they should try to follow suit.” She added that she’d found out about the trip shortly before the public but hadn’t wanted to publicize it until both members were headed back to the U.S.
The trip also caused an uproar within the Biden administration, with one senior official telling The Washington Post that their stunt was “as moronic as it is selfish. They’re taking seats away from Americans and at-risk Afghans—while putting our diplomats and service members at greater risk—so they can have a moment in front of the cameras.” Another administration official condemned the move to NBC News, describing it as “an unhelpful distraction to the mission we are trying to accomplish. Our troops need to be focused on getting evacuees out, not hosting members of Congress who want to find a way in.”
“It’s one of the most irresponsible things I’ve heard a lawmaker do,” a diplomat told the Post. “It absolutely deserves admonishment.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to the news by reiterating that the Biden administration had urged all Americans against traveling to Afghanistan. “The focus must continue to be evacuating American citizens and our Afghan partners who fought alongside us for the last 20 years, and that is best left in the hands of the Department of Defense and the State Department,” she said.
Moulton and Meijer, however, have insisted that no harm was done, and that their trip shed light on a jarring situation. “After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time, even by September 11,” the lawmakers wrote in a joint statement published Tuesday night—shortly after the Post broke the news of their trip. “Washington should be ashamed of the position we put our service members in, but they represent the best in America. These men and women have been run ragged and are still running strong. Their empathy and dedication to duty are truly inspiring.”
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