Both sides of the aisle condemned two congressional members' secret Kabul trip.
Representatives Seth Moulton, Peter Meijer and others traveled to Afghanistan to press President Biden to extend Aug. 31's evacuation deadline.
However, several US lawmakers and officials criticized the trip for its informational nature, citing potential risks.
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Bipartisan criticism was levelled at two members of Congress who traveled to Kabul following the Taliban takeover.
Representative Seth Moulton (a Democrat from Massachusetts) and Rep. Peter Meijer (a Republican from Michigan), chartered a flight to Afghanistan to press President Joe Biden to extend August 31st to evacuate Americans and other aid workers.
The veterans 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 said that Washington should be ashamed of what they did to our service personnel, but that they are the best Americans."
Moulton and Meijer stated that they had spoken with commanders in Kabul and seen the situation and concluded that it was unlikely that evacuations could be completed by the White House deadline.
"Sadly, and frustratingly" the lawmakers stated that getting our people out of Afghanistan depends on maintaining a bizarre relationship with Taliban.
On Wednesday, Moulton's and Meijer’s visit drew backlash by both sides of the aisle, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Pelosi stated that "this is very serious." "There is a real concern that members may be in the region."
Pelosi sent Tuesday night a letter to lawmakers asking them not to travel to Afghanistan. She warned them that such trips could "unnecessarily divert resources from the priority missions of safely and expeditiously exiling Afghans and Americans at risk from Afghanistan."
Read more: Rep. Peter Meijer (33-year-old Republican) voted to impeach Trump. He comes from a family Michigan supermarket billionaires and he legislates with a YOLO mindset
McCarthy, House GOP leader, said that he understood the intent of the lawmakers but fears the trip could have put people in danger.
"I explained to him that I don’t think they should," said he during a press conference. It creates greater risk. There are enough Americans in the country that could be held hostage. They would make a point of a member from Congress. You take the military from their mission to get as many Americans out as possible.
Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who served in Iraq, and Afghanistan, said Wednesday to MSNBC that he believed the trip was "a very irresponsible thing for those two members."
"The bottom line is that we are trying to secure our troops, soldiers, we're trying get as many people out of this as possible. The only thing I thought of when I heard this was how many Afghan women, children, and men were not able evacuate yesterday because they had pulled Marines off the lines or out at rest to ensure security for VIPs? Crow stated. Crow said, "It shouldn’t have happened."
Fox News' GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher stated that he believed the trip was a publicity stunt.
He said, "As for members going into Afghanistan on their own,". "I believe it's a publicity stunt and it is counterproductive to the effort of getting as many people as possible out."
Rep. Sara Jacobs (a California Democrat) also decried the trip via Twitter.
She tweeted, "Whether it's Haiti or Afghanistan - taking up space within a disaster zone to support your own ego does no one any good,"
