News: Subject Investigation intentions mount on Capitol Hill as Afghanistan debacle continues

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Subject Investigation intentions mount on Capitol Hill as Afghanistan debacle continues

Aug 18, 2021

With Sarah Ferris.

CONGRESS WANTS ANSWERS — Democratic lawmakers at the helm of at least four key committees are promising to investigate the botched U.S. exit from Afghanistan. As the Biden administration scrambles to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies, Congress is plotting probes into how it went so wrong.

Lawmakers are expected to push for a recounting of where intelligence and strategy fell short along with oversight of how evacuations are being handled, plans for the coming days and weeks and what new threats could emerge with the Taliban in charge of Afghanistan. The investigations could prove to be a challenge for the Biden administration, which hasn't faced much pushback from fellow Democrats in Congress.

A quick roundup of which panels and chairmen are pledging inquiries (so far):

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) says he'll "seek a full accounting" of the Biden admin's "flawed execution of the U.S. withdrawal." The New Jersey Democrat blamed the Biden team for "clear policy execution and intelligence failures associated with our withdrawal and its aftermath," and pledged a "full accounting."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) has invited Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to testify at a hearing "as early as possible" on the administration's plans for safe evacuation of American citizens, Afghan allies "and to understand our broader counter terrorism strategy in South Asia following the collapse of the Ghani government."

Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Monday called for hearings to understand just what exactly went wrong with the Afghanistan withdrawal and pledged cooperation with other panels: "I hope to work with the other committees of jurisdiction to ask tough but necessary questions about why we weren't better prepared for a worst-case scenario involving such a swift and total collapse of the Afghan government and security forces," said Warner.

Senate Armed Services Committee , under Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), will also hold hearings on "what went wrong in Afghanistan." Reed blamed the fiasco in part on the administration's "failures of intelligence, diplomacy and a lack of imagination as we transitioned military forces from the country."

For more on the impending investigations and what they mean for the Biden administration, read Andrew's latest: https://politi.co/3srXO78

BULLY PULPIT GETS TO WORK — The pressure campaign is officially on as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team work to convince nearly a dozen reluctant Democratic centrists to back the budget on the floor next week.

That includes the White House , which released a statement yesterday saying Biden "strongly supports" Pelosi's plan for floor action. Behind the scenes, Biden administration officials, including Shalanda Young and Brian Deese, have also begun making calls to moderates, as Heather and Sarah scooped: https://politi.co/3yX7dpL

Democratic leadership, meanwhile, is doing its own arm-twisting on the resistors. On a caucus call yesterday, a trio of top Democrats — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.), Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.) and T&I Chairman Peter DeFazio (Ore.) — all made their pitch for lawmakers to unite behind the high-stakes budget vote. And Pelosi released a "Dear Colleague" letter last night warning that opposing the budget "jeopardizes the once-in-a-generation opportunity" to pass sweeping Democratic priorities.

Even so, moderates aren't budging on the budget vote while the Senate deal remains stuck. Privately, some are more likely to support Monday night's combined rule vote -- which tees up the budget blueprint, the Senate's infrastructure package and a voting rights bill. But many remain steadfast against the budget resolution itself, since that Senate bill has no guarantee of getting a final passage soon, sources told Sarah last night.

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GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, August 18, the depths of the August recess.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Business Insider's story about how Madison Cawthorn has made money from Apple and Amazon Stock, despite being a big tech critic, was the big winner.

FIRST IN HUDDLE — Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) is trying to gather support for a bill redirecting part of the Pentagon's budget to help with global vaccinations. He's going to send a Dear Colleague around to build support for the COVID Defense Act, which would reallocate 1.3% of the Pentagon's budget to help vaccinate some of the world's poorest people.

"We can't bomb our way out of a global pandemic," Pocan said in a statement to Nick. "Right now, COVID is the greatest risk to our national security as well as the world's security."

IMMUNITY IMPASSE — Lawmakers who have spent many, many months negotiating federal police reform legislation have scrapped changes to qualified immunity, a key target of progressives who hope to deeply shift how policing works in America.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields police officers from civil liability. Progressives have wanted to end it, while Republicans have stood firm for keeping the protection. Marianne and Nick have the latest update on the long slog of policing negotiations: https://politi.co/3D0747k

TAKE CARE — America's longest war is coming to a close, but for the nearly 800,000 American troops who served in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, the news surrounding the tumultuous exit can bring up a lot. The House Veterans Affairs Committee compiled a robust roundup of resources: https://bit.ly/3m8VYal

Twitter isn't exactly a place known for improving mental health. But seriously, scroll through the thread. If you're not a veteran, knowing about these resources (like same-day access at VA for veterans in mental health crisis) could help you help a colleague, friend or constituent. For veterans on the Hill: don't forget that in addition to VA resources, you can access the Employee Assistance Program.

Related: Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan Brings Complicated Feelings for U.S. Military Veterans, from the Wall Street Journal

TUNNEL VISION — A onetime Hill intern who runs an extremely niche site about the history of tunnels and pipe systems around Washington gave the FBI a heads up in early January when his site started attracting an influx of hits from concerning sources.

Elliot Carter, who runs WashingtonTunnels.com, told the NBC News4 investigative team that he was worried that people were covertly seeking escape routes or entry points to the Capitol ahead of the electoral college count in January when he saw a spike in traffic from anonymous message boards and forums named after militias, firearms and Trump.

More on the tip Carter sent to law enforcement and Capitol Police's response: https://bit.ly/3g95vdt

JEOPARDY'S LOSS, LOC'S GAIN — LeVar Burton, of Roots, Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation, was snubbed by Jeopardy in recent weeks only to be scooped up by the Library of Congress. https://bit.ly/3AWdqTH

Burton is set to host "Open a Book, Open the World: The Library of Congress National Book Festival," on PBS, premiering Sunday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m. ET.

"I'm proud and honored to join Dr. Carla Hayden to explore the National Book Festival," Burton said in a statement. "A good book can take you on a journey. After the last year, we're all ready to plot a new course, and books can be an amazing compass."

LOOKING BACK — Don't miss this look back at Rep. Barbara Lee's (D-Calif.) lonely vote in 2001 against the sweeping authorization for use of military force: https://wapo.st/3mcYE6P

Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today .

QUICK LINKS

— 'Center of the maelstrom': Election officials grapple with 2020's long shadow, from Zach Montellaro

— Senators Demand TikTok Reveal How It Plans To Collect Voice And Face Data, via NPR

— The FBI Keeps Using Clues From Volunteer Sleuths To Find The Jan. 6 Capitol Rioters, via NPR

TRANSITIONS

Marie Baldassarre is heading to the House side to be Rep. Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) new communications director later this month. She is currently a press advisor for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Catherine Anderson has been promoted to be communications director for the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She most recently was the committee's press secretary.

Krystina Skurk has been promoted to be deputy press secretary for Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.). She most recently was press assistant for Green.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is not in session.

The Senate is not in session.

AROUND THE HILL

Not much.

TRIVIA

TUESDAY'S WINNER: Logan Ferree was the first person to correctly guess that Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy received the first Siamese cat to arrive in the U.S., which the American consul of Bangkok gave as a gift. The cat arrived at the White House in 1879 after a long journey to D.C., first traveling to Hong Kong, then San Francisco, before taking a train to Washington.

TODAY'S QUESTION from Logan: President Biden has a baseball card of this Hall of Famer, whom Biden has frequently quoted regarding his approach toward age, on his desk in the Oval Office.

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus