Biden criticized for weak response to military deaths

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During a recent NewsNation “On Balance” broadcast, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) addressed multiple concerns regarding national security and accountability across different administrations.

The discussion began with host Leland Vittert questioning the Democratic response to the Afghanistan withdrawal tragedy, particularly noting the absence of calls for resignations from key officials like Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser, and other cabinet members following the deaths of 13 American service members.

SHAMEFUL: Mark Warner laughs when CNBC brings up the 13 warriors who died at Abbey Gate because of the Biden Administration's incompetence. pic.twitter.com/FKiyLfFVdP

— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) March 27, 2025

Warner acknowledged the severity of the Afghanistan situation while highlighting a concerning pattern of security breaches. He pointed out that the FBI counterterrorism official who helped capture the Abbey Gate bomber was removed from office during the early days of the Trump administration. The senator went on to detail several security incidents, including a breach that exposed 200 CIA agents’ identities and the inadvertent disclosure of classified locations in a federal property listing.

“[G]o back and look at what I and others said about the screw-up. And I’d also kind of — it’s kind of ironic that the FBI head of, I believe it was counterterrorism, who helped us arrest the Abbey Gate bomber where the 13 soldiers died and 150 civilians, that was one of the guys they kicked out of office in the first week of this administration,” Warner stated.

🚨Dem Sen Michael Bennet is asked why Democrats didn’t call for firings after the Biden Afghanistan disaster that left 13 Americans dead:

“All these cases need to be looked at. We need to hold people accountable for their failures in leadership, no matter what administration it… pic.twitter.com/jflCAoyRbE

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 27, 2025

The Virginia senator emphasized the double standard in accountability measures, noting that regular military personnel or CIA agents would face immediate termination for similar security breaches. While acknowledging that Biden “maybe didn’t hold enough people accountable” for what he described as an “awful withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Warner questioned whether the Trump administration would be held to the same standards of accountability.

The exchange concluded with Vittert acknowledging Warner’s point by referencing his own previous mentions of Hillary Clinton’s emails in relation to the recent Signal chat controversy.