Congressmen Moulton, Meijer Defend Kabul Trip Amid Criticism from Colleagues: ‘I Don’t Care What Pundits in Washington Are Saying’

Congressmen Seth Moulton (D- MA) and Peter Meijer (R- MI) appeared together on CNN Sunday to defend the trip they took to Kabul amid criticism from colleagues and U.S. officials.

Moulton and Meijer secretly traveled to Kabul last week to see the evacuations firsthand. After leaving they put out a joint statement saying “no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time.”

Biden administration officials were reportedly “infuriated” by their trip, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly chastised them.

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked them about the criticism and the argument that they “diverted resources needed to protect the evacuation just two days before the terrorist attack there.”

“Those accusations are just not true,” Moulton said. “At the end of the day, I don’t care what pundits in Washington are saying. They’ve been wrong about this war for 20 years.”

He argued that they went so U.S. forces on the ground wouldn’t feel “betrayed by Congress.”

Meijer noted how both of them are veterans and were “uniquely situated to be able to get in, get out, be as quiet as possible, but also take away as much information as possible.”

Moulton said the evacuation should have started “much earlier” as he talked about the attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans.

Meijer told Tapper that they realized on the trip the U.S. does not have leverage because it’s “wholly dependent” on the Taliban to help evacuations.

At one point Tapper directly asked both of them if, given the lives lost and everything that has transpired over the past 20 years, if the war in Afghanistan was ultimately worth it.

“I think it’s impossible to sit here today and say yes,” Meijer said.

He and Moulton agreed that it has been “failure upon failure.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

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