WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that those responsible for the attack in Kabul on Thursday “will be sought and brought to justice.”
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The New York Democrat said in a statement that he had just spoken to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the “heinous attacks” on U.S. personnel and the Afghan partners.
“I strongly condemn this act of terrorism and it must be clear to the world that the terrorists who perpetrated this will be sought and brought to justice,” he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Republican leader called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call the Congress back into session so lawmakers can consider legislation would prohibit the Aug. 31 withdrawal until all Americans are out of Afghanistan.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California said, “It is time for Congress to act quickly to save lives.”
A return to session before the deadline is highly unlikely. The Democrats aligned with President Joe Biden hold majority control and are not expected to consider such legislation to alter the withdrawal date.
Republicans have been highly critical of Biden’s handling of the situation in Kabul.
Pelosi’s office dismissed the House Republican leadership’s calls to bring Congress back into session as “empty stunts” amid the extraordinary evacuation of American citizens and others from Afghanistan.
“Right now, American heroes are risking & giving their lives to execute an extraordinarily dangerous evacuation,” Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill said on Twitter. “What’s not going to help evacuate American citizens is more empty stunts & distraction.”
