Two members of Congress chartered an aircraft to Kabul's airport during the chaotic evacuation of Americans, Afghans, and others.
Rep. Seth Moulton, and Rep. Peter Meijer were both veterans who stayed several hours before getting on a flight home.
Officials were apparently upset by the unannounced trip, as they weren't made aware of the men’s travels.
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Two Congressional legislators flew into Kabul's airport during the ongoing evacuation triggered by the Taliban takeover earlier in the month. This angered the State Department and US military personnel, who had to provide security measures last-minute for the two lawmakers, according to The Associated Press.
Officials confirmed to the outlet that Rep. Seth Moulton (a Massachusetts Democrat) and Rep. Peter Meijer (a Michigan Republican and ex-US Marine reservist), chartered an aircraft to Kabul's airport. They stayed there for several hours.
Tuesday evening's joint statement by the congressmen confirmed the secret trip as a way to provide oversight for the executive branch.
The statement stated that "There is no other place in the world where oversight matters more".
The lawmakers said that they conducted the trip secretly, revealing it only after we left, in order to minimize disruption and risk to the people on the ground. They also stated that the trip was for information and not grandstand.
Both men served in Iraq and were critical of the way the Biden administration conducted the troop drawdown in Afghanistan. They also called for more Afghans being evacuated.
Moulton and Meijer stated that Washington should be ashamed of what they did to our service personnel, but they are the best in America.
According to the AP the congressmen reportedly fled the capital on another charter plane. This caused frustration among officials, who argued that the men's seats could also have been taken by other Americans or Afghans fleeing the country.
Moulton and Meijer claimed they boarded a plane without any seats, and they were assigned to crew-only seats so they wouldn't be competing for a seat.
According to the AP officials from the State Department, Defense Department and White House were "furious" at the unannounced visit, which was made without coordination between diplomats or military personnel, who have been leading evacuations on the ground for the past week.
According to the outlet, the US military found out about Congressmen's impending arrival only as they were flying towards Kabul.
Moulton and Meijer claimed they were going to the trip to press Biden into extenuating the August 31 deadline for evacuations, but after their visit, they believe that a complete evacuation is impossible.
"After speaking with commanders on ground and looking at the situation here, it became obvious that we started the evacuation too late that we won't be able to get everyone out by September 11. No matter what we do," they stated.
Insider reached out to Meijer and Moulton but they did not immediately respond.
Insider also requested comment from the State Department and White House but they did not immediately respond.
