WASHINGTON — This week marks the two-year anniversary of the formal end of the war in Afghanistan, and now, a member of Congress has introduced a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors" related to the withdrawal of American troops.
Rep. Cory Mills (R- Florida) has introduced articles of impeachment against Austin for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
His bill states that Austin engaged in a "dereliction of his duties and intentional abandonment of Americans in Afghanistan. "
The resolution claims that Austin's actions caused the "unnecessary deaths" of 13 U.S. service members in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport.
In a statement on his website, Mills said: "It's not enough for Congress to hold committee hearings. We must start taking real action to address the complete failure of this administration."
Pentagon press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said at a news conference on Thursday that "in terms of those Articles, I'm not going to discuss any pending legislative actions. What I would say though is there is no one who cares more deeply for the well-being of service members and their families, whether it's serving today or whether it was serving in Afghanistan, than Secretary Austin."
He declined to react in detail to the impeachment articles' claims, but he did robustly defend actions that were taken at the end of the war.
"We recognize it was a challenging situation. Military commanders on the ground made the best decisions and provided their best military advice based on what was known at the time."
Ryder went on to express the department's "deepest condolences to the Gold Star families who lost loved ones in that tragic bombing."
So far, just three House Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R- Georgia) are co-sponsoring the resolution.
The measure was sent to the House Judiciary Committee.