SCOOP: Lawmakers commemorate the “sacrifice” of 13 American servicemembers killed during Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal

Five years after President Joe Biden’s chaotic and failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, Republican lawmakers still want answers and accountability.

August 26, 2021 was the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan in years — an ISIS-K suicide terrorist detonated a bomb at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s (HKIA) Abbey Gate, killing 13 American servicemembers and over 100 Afghans.

For veterans across America, the images of America’s withdrawal hit home — it spurred many to run for office for the first time to ensure that America never forgets the sacrifice of those who fought in America’s longest war.

In commemoration of the solemn anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack, several members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) — many of them veterans themselves — explained the importance of never forgetting the heroes of Abbey Gate, and of ensuring that a withdrawal like the one the Biden administration undertook never happens again. 

“We must never forget the August 26th, 2021, surrender in Afghanistan, one of the most disastrous military and foreign policy mistakes in American history,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), one of the House GOP’s leading voices on foreign policy, said. “Sadly, 13 brave U.S. servicemembers were killed after successfully preventing resurgence of terrorism for 20 years. Biden’s capitulation to the Taliban has made Afghanistan a safe haven for terrorists, putting all Americans at risk.”

“Afghanistan is personal to me,” Rep. Rich McCormick (R., Ga.) explained. For him and for so many other Afghanistan veterans, the images from five years ago are unforgettable. “I wore the uniform there. I served alongside men and women who gave everything they had to that mission, and I saw firsthand the price they and their families paid. Five years ago, at Abbey Gate, 13 American servicemembers were killed while carrying out one of the most difficult missions imaginable.”

“They were doing exactly what their country asked of them until their final moments,” McCormick added. “Those 13 heroes, and every American who served in Afghanistan, deserved leadership equal to their courage and sacrifice. Instead, the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal ended in chaos, abandoned our allies, and handed Afghanistan back to the Taliban. On this anniversary, we remember the 13 lives stolen at Abbey Gate, we honor every American who served and sacrificed in Afghanistan, and we recommit ourselves to making sure our country never repeats those failures. Their sacrifice demands nothing less.”

Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), the Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, addressed the importance of honoring the sacrifice of the 13 American servicemembers.

“Five years ago at Abbey Gate, 13 courageous American servicemembers made the ultimate sacrifice while carrying out a dangerous mission to bring others to safety,” Rogers said. “We will never forget their bravery, and we continue to mourn with and pray for the families. This solemn anniversary is also a reminder of the catastrophic failures that led to the attack during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

“Honoring the fallen requires accountability and resolve,” he continued. “We must continue to take the necessary steps to ensure our warfighters have the leadership and resources they need to prevent a tragedy of this magnitude from ever happening again.”

For veterans like Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas), the lessons of Abbey Gate are important: “we owe it to the fallen at Abbey Gate to make sure this country is never caught in that position again.”

“Thirteen heroes lost their lives because the Biden-Harris administration projected chaos instead of strength, and our adversaries took notice,” Pfluger added. “Five years later, Republicans have worked tirelessly to restore what was lost that day. From rebuilding our military to reasserting American resolve on the world stage, we are proving that the era of American weakness is over.”

The policies Pfluger cited include several measures within the GOP’s signature legislation of 2025, the Working Families Tax Cuts (WFTC). Among those policies are a $150 billion investment into America’s national security, which helps American servicemembers handle an increasingly evolving threat landscape. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027 also contains several landmark provisions designed to ensure America maintains its military supremacy. 

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R., Texas), a decorated Navy veteran with decades of service, expressed the importance of honoring the “heroism [of those killed at Abbey Gate] and [of standing] with their Gold Star Families and the other wounded survivors.”

“Their courage and sacrifice will forever be part of the story of our nation, and we will remain committed to ensuring that American lives and American strength is never taken for granted again,” Jackson added. 

Rep. Rick Crawford (R., Ark.), the Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said that “the 13 heroes of Abbey Gate represented the very best of our nation, standing in the breach to save others with extraordinary courage and selflessness. Having made the ultimate sacrifice, their unwavering devotion to duty will forever be etched in our hearts and honored by a grateful nation.”

Rep. Tom Barrett (R., Mich.) explained that the deaths of the 13 American servicemembers during the Biden withdrawal “are a painful reminder of the failure in leadership we saw that day, and it is our responsibility not to forget the families whose sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters were returned home in a flag-draped coffin. We owe it to them — and to every American in uniform — to end the era of forever wars once and for all.”

“Five years after the tragedy at Abbey Gate, we remember the 13 brave American servicemembers who gave their lives protecting our country and the others who were wounded or forever changed by that day,” Rep. Matt Van Epps (R., Tenn.) added. “Their sacrifice demands more than remembrance. It demands that we learn from our failures, continue to restore American deterrence, and ensure our military has the resources, capabilities, and leadership necessary to protect Americans and defeat those who seek to harm us. We owe it to the fallen and their families to make sure a failure of this scale never happens again.”

Rep. Sheri Biggs (R., S.C.) is another lawmaker who praised the “sacrifice” of the servicemembers killed at Abbey Gate. She called it “a solemn reminder of the courage our servicemembers display every day and our responsibility to ensure their sacrifices were not in vain. We owe it to their families and every American in uniform to ensure our military and leadership are strong enough to prevent a failure like Abbey Gate from ever happening again.”

Rep. Scott Franklin (R., Fla.) added that “their sacrifice demands that we learn from the failures surrounding our withdrawal from Afghanistan, rebuild American military strength and ensure our servicemembers are never again placed in such a vulnerable position.”

The thirteen American servicemembers killed at Abbey Gate were Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss, USA; Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover, USMC; Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, USMC; Sergeant Nicole L. Gee, USMC; Corporal Hunter Lopez, USMC; Corporal Daegan W. Page, USMC; Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, USMC; Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza, USMC; Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz, USMC; Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum, USMC; Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola, USMC; Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, USMC; and Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak, USN.