With Andrew Desiderio. The Capitol is quiet this week with both chambers in recess, but behind the scenes there is plenty brewing as lawmakers look ahead to next steps on President Joe Biden's economic agenda and seek answers about the chaotic and deadly situation unfolding in Afghanistan, where the Taliban now reigns after a stunning sweep back to power. Let's break down both: AFGHANISTAN CALAMITY CONTINUES — Action and answers are what lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding from the Biden administration as a frenzied evacuation effort continues and Taliban control solidifies. Emergency briefings on Sunday did little to satisfy lawmakers. In the coming days members will continue to demand answers to everything from the operational and intelligence failures to the collapse of Afghan security forces and the fate of Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort — many of whom will be left behind amid the Taliban's strong grip throughout the country. Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, was blunt about what this weekend's developments mean as we all reflect on the 20-year war effort. This is personal for several folks on Capitol Hill, especially those like Crow who relied on Afghan interpreters during his service there. "My heart has broken," Crow wrote on Twitter. "Like most vets, I left part of me in AFG. Later we'll debate the failures of last 20 yrs, but today our mission is clear: hold the airport as long as possible and get ALL U.S. citizens and as many Afghan partners out as we can. We will debate the rest later." But that debate has already begun — and it's raging. Most Democrats have been reluctant to outwardly criticize Biden's foreign-policy doctrine, but we're going to see a lot of that in the coming days. Some questions we'll hear: Why didn't the administration sufficiently plan for evacuations of Afghans who served as translators for soldiers like Crow, and will now be left for dead? Why were the president and his top deputies publicly downplaying the likelihood of a swift Taliban takeover? And did those statements reflect an intelligence failure, or a willful deception of the intel? And what's the long-term plan to protect the U.S. homeland from potential terror threats emanating from Afghanistan, and to evacuate our Afghan allies? With an influx of 6,000 American troops heading to Kabul airport and fewer than 2,000 special immigrant visas issued for Afghan allies who were critical to U.S. operations, lawmakers have more questions than answers heading into the week. Iraq veteran Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.): "The fact that, at this hour, we have not even secured the civilian half of Kabul Airport is testament to our moral and operational failure. We need to rectify this immediately." Republicans are trying to turn this into a we-told-you-so moment. While they're using the chaotic exit of American troops from Afghanistan against Biden and for fundraising, Democrats are pointing to the Trump administration's efforts to negotiate with the Taliban. There is plenty of blame to go around in the last two administrations (and two decades) of U.S. policy on Afghanistan. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), another Afghanistan vet, lays blame at the feet of both presidents, calling the Trump administration "naïve" for holding talks and legitimizing the Taliban "and openly negotiating with terrorists." He also called out the Biden administration for acting "without any semblance of a plan or forethought into how this would play out." Congress has shied away from exercising its own power to authorize and limit use of military force in the last 30 years, both before and after 9/11. Lawmakers ceded significant war powers to presidents, who took the wide and mostly unchallenged authority to conduct airstrikes, put troops on the ground and more. And even though Congress is on track to scrap Iraq-related war authorizations, negotiations have been underway for a while now surrounding the 2001 AUMF, which served as the legal basis for entering Afghanistan 20 years ago to take out al Qaeda. The latest developments in Afghanistan could throw a wrench in these talks, especially if terror groups can reconstitute in a newly destabilized Afghanistan. Related: 'Saigon on Steroids': The Desperate Rush to Flee Afghanistan from the Wall Street Journal. PELOSI PLOTS DUAL RULE — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is charting a path forward on the bipartisan infrastructure package and the budget resolution, potentially tying together the two bills under one rule for consideration. The dual-rule decision may have been weeks in the making, as Pelosi repeatedly stuck to her guns on moving both bills in tight succession. | 
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