McCarthy Calls on Democrats to Drop Spending Plans ‘Until Every Single American’ is Out of Afghanistan

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called Tuesday for Democrats to cancel their spending proposals in Congress until every American had been rescued from Afghanistan.

“They should drop that, and our entire focus — Republican, Democrat, independent, and the like — should be nothing else then bringing our Americans home,” McCarthy said at a press conference. “We shouldn’t work on other items, especially the spending of trillions of dollars — that should be our only focus. We shouldn’t cut off our briefing with the administration because they have to get back to vote on their rule.”

The comments came after House members attended a briefing with Biden administration officials about the situation in Afghanistan. On the same day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) postponed a vote on a $3.5 trillion spending proposal, which she is seeking to pass without Republican support. Nine House Democrats — leaving her Pelosi with inadequate support in to move forward. The chamber is divided 220-212, with Democrats holding a narrow eight-seat majority. The majority is also seeking to pass an infrastructure plan that President Joe Biden has championed as a key priority.

McCarthy said Democrats cut the briefing short, leaving members with unanswered questions for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Biden said earlier in the day he would acquiesce to the Taliban’s demand that the United States leave the country by August 31, potentially leaving thousands of Americans with no way to reach the international airport in Kabul.

Polls indicate the issue could be an effective one for Republicans. Surveys this week have shown Biden’s approval rating dropping below 50 percent for the first time in his seven-month presidency, with about a quarter of Americans approving of the way he has handled Afghanistan since the Taliban seized its capital city on August 15.

“At no time should America ever bend to allow the Taliban to tell us when we have to stop bringing Americans out,” McCarthy added. “We should stay until every single American is able to get out of Afghanistan. We should not negotiate it.”

Watch above via YouTube.