Republican lawmakers on Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of the deadly Abbey Gate bombing by honoring the 13 fallen service members while demanding accountability for what they called former President Joe Biden’s “reckless withdrawal from Afghanistan,” which led to the “tragic but preventable attack,” with multiple members vowing to “never let him off the hook for his utter failure as Commander-in-Chief.”
President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation declaring August 26, 2025, as a day of remembrance for the Abbey Gate victims, flanked by Gold Star families as he blasted the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal. “This is a very special group of people. I’ve been with them from the beginning, Abby Gate,” Trump said, calling August 26, 2021, “one of the dumbest days in our nation’s history.”
Trump said the administration should have kept Bagram Airfield and withdrawn from there rather than the vulnerable Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. “At a minimum, they should have been at Bagram, the big field where we have hundreds of acres around it. Nobody’s going to get near it. They left from a small airfield, and the consequences were horrible,” Trump said at the ceremony, joined by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The president also recognized the wounded. “We have, like, 32 maybe more, but approximately 32 who lost their arms and their legs,” he said. “We remember these great 13 souls, but we also remember the people that were so badly injured, our soldiers, and we’re in contact with them always.”
On Tuesday, GOP lawmakers across both chambers took to social media to honor the fallen and demand accountability, stressing that the tragedy “didn’t have to happen” and blasting what they called Biden’s “strategic incompetence.”
“Four years ago, thirteen American service members gave their lives during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. We owe it to them and every warrior who wears the uniform to ensure that something like this never happens again.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) directly tied the bombing to Biden and Harris, writing, “Four years ago, 13 American heroes were killed at Abbey Gate because of Joe Biden & Kamala Harris’s reckless withdrawal from Afghanistan. It didn’t have to be this way.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) delivered one of the sharpest critiques, saying, “The Biden administration bears full responsibility for the chaos in Kabul. By ignoring military advice, disregarding intelligence, and prioritizing politics over strategy, they created the conditions that cost 13 American lives.”
House Republicans echoed the same message. Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) wrote, “Four years ago today, 13 brave U.S. service members and 170 civilians were murdered at Abbey Gate in Kabul. It was totally preventable. Biden’s disastrous withdrawal cost American lives.”
Several lawmakers honored service members from their home states. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) remembered Wyoming native Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum, writing, “Among the 13 was Wyoming’s own Rylee McCollum from Jackson. Rylee’s courage, along with the sacrifice of each of the fallen service members, will forever be remembered and honored.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) honored Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz from Missouri, saying, “Today marks four years since the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that cost 13 American lives, including Lcpl Jared Schmitz from Missouri. The families deserve accountability.”
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) laid out the circumstances of the attack, noting it followed Biden’s “rushed withdrawal from Bagram Airfield in July 2021, which left U.S. forces without a defensible base and allowed the Taliban to release thousands of extremists, including the attacker responsible for Abbey Gate.” Collins added that “Americans and Afghan allies were abandoned and $85 billion in U.S. military equipment was left behind,” while listing all 13 fallen heroes by name.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement underscoring accountability, stating, “Bad policies have consequences. Four years ago today, President Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in the tragic but preventable bombing attack at the Abbey Gate, robbing us of our thirteen young men and women in uniform. We will never forget the names of these brave servicemembers gone too early.”
Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) and Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-TX) both honored the fallen by name. McCaul connected the tragedy to his oversight work, saying, “This tragedy didn’t have to happen. As my 2024 report into the Afghanistan withdrawal revealed, the Biden admin prioritized optics over security at every step of the way — putting servicemembers, State Department employees, and innocent Afghans in mortal danger. While we remember and mourn those who died on that tragic day, we must also continue working toward answers and accountability to ensure this never happens again.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) honored Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Maxton Soviak, writing, “It’s been four years since Max Soviak paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country at the Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan. We will never forget his service. God Bless him and his family.”
Other Republicans emphasized their continued push for accountability. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) wrote, “We will never forget the sacrifice of every lost life and those injured that day, and thanks to President Trump, these heroes’ families will finally get the answers they deserve!”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) honored Staff Sergeant Ryan P. Knauss, noting her successful effort to dedicate a post office in his memory. “His courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” she said.
The RNC Research account delivered one of the harshest broadsides, stating, “Four years ago today 13 brave service members lost their lives during Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Kamala Harris laughed.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called the withdrawal “a stain on our nation,” writing, “The Biden admin’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal will forever be a stain on our nation. Four years ago today, 13 American heroes were killed at Abbey Gate. We join in grief with our Gold Star families & will never forget the fallen 13.”
The House GOP’s official account summed it up, writing, “The disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal claimed the lives of 13 fearless American service members. Military veterans of the @HouseGOP remind us to never forget their sacrifice — and to never let Joe Biden off the hook for his utter failure as Commander-in-Chief.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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