House GOP turns up heat on Democrats over Afghanistan

House Republicans on Monday will use a procedural vote to try to shine a brighter spotlight on President Biden’s botched handling of the U.S. military’s exit from Afghanistan and turn up the heat on his vulnerable Democratic allies.

Democrats, who control the House majority, are expected to stick together and shut down the GOP effort, making it little more than a protest vote.

According to a spokesman for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Republicans will try to defeat the previous question and amend a rule to allow the House to take up a bill that would force Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to submit a daily report to Congress about evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.

That report would include the number of U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan; number of U.S. citizens, and legal permanent residents of the U.S. inside Afghanistan; number of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents of the U.S. who have requested but not received evacuation; total evacuation numbers from Kabul; and information regarding the evacuation of Afghan allies.

The GOP bill also would limit the ability of the Pentagon to withdraw U.S. forces until the evacuation is complete, unless Austin determines there is an imminent threat of hostilities. 

But Democrats are positioned to end the amendment process and move directly to a vote on a rule that will allow the party to take up three key components of President Biden’s domestic agenda, including the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.

Still, Biden and Democratic leaders will be contending with the crisis in Afghanistan for days weeks to come as thousands of Americans and Afghan allies remain stuck behind Taliban lines in Kabul. And Republicans will be looking for other ways to highlight what they see as a massive political crisis that could harm Democrats in 2022 and 2024.