Congressional offices have been flooded with phone calls over the past several days from Americans desperately attempting to escape Afghanistan as the Taliban begin their reign of terror.
Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) posted on Facebook Tuesday, “If you or someone you know is trying to get out of Afghanistan, please contact my O’Fallon or D.C. offices ASAP”:
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) tweeted a link to a Google Form Wednesday, and said, “We’re working urgently with the U.S. Department of State to coordinate their safe return home.”
Even though Google Forms are not considered a safe platform to input sensitive information, members of Congress are desperate to help however they can, and the Biden administration reportedly isn’t assisting them.
HUDSON VALLEY: If you have loved ones in Afghanistan, call my office at 845-561-1259, so we can help. We’re working urgently with the U.S. Department of State to coordinate their safe return home. https://t.co/WdHuc4yZRt
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) August 18, 2021
Congressional staffers told Breitbart News it’s frustrating because there is not much they can do to assist people beyond flagging it for the Biden administration to hopefully act on.
“We literally explicitly promised we would help them and just didn’t,” one Republican House staffer told Breitbart News. “People have known this was going to be a problem forever and Biden just didn’t care… I spent all weekend glued to my phone realizing there was nothing I could do. It sucks.”
Another Republican House Legislative Foreign Affairs aid told Breitbart News in response to Biden’s speech Monday, “He [Biden] literally just said they didn’t get [Special Immigrant Visas] out for months [because Afghans] didn’t want to go. Fuck. You. [Biden]. These guys have been waiting to get out for months and sometimes years… His words and actions are killing hundreds and laying the groundwork for the next 9/11.”
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are posting on Twitter in an attempt to get Americans and Afghans out of the fallen nation, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and others:
If you’re an American stranded in Afghanistan, or know one who is, please contact my office immediately:
(501) 223-9081 or
evac@cotton.senate.govThe situation is dire, but we’ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) August 15, 2021
I am getting lots of inquiries from people in Afghanistan or people who know those trying to get to safety. I am compiling names to try and push for evacuation. I cannot promise anything but will do everything I can. Email RepKimEvac@mail.house.gov
Here are more resources: THREAD— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) August 16, 2021
The State Department has also now set up a hotline at 1-888-407-4747(domestic calls) and 1-202-501-4444 (overseas calls)
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) August 17, 2021
Sen. Cotton told the podcast Ruthless that after he posted on Twitter Sunday evening, his office has received hundreds of calls from Americans trying to escape Afghanistan.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin asking them “to provide answers on the safety of these American citizens and details on the plans to get them out of Afghanistan”:
The U.S. is responsible for evacuating every single American from Afghanistan safely in the days and weeks ahead.⁰
NEW 🚨 I’m calling on the Biden Administration to provide answers on the safety of these American citizens and details on the plans to get them out of Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/J3EwsadJdw— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) August 17, 2021
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is attempting to deflect from “Joe Biden’s Siagon” by posting on Twitter Tuesday about the Voting Rights Act:
The House today is taking a momentous step to secure the sacred right to vote for generations to come. With the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, @HouseDemocrats are fighting back against an anti-democratic tide & protecting access to the ballot box for every American.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 17, 2021
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