House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Friday left open the possibility that Republicans would seek to impeach President Joe Biden over his handling of the troop withdrawal in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a news conference and quoted by Fox News, McCarthy sidestepped a direct question on whether he backs those efforts, but signaled the president will be held accountable at some point.
"I'm extremely frustrated with this president," McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol, adding, "There will be a day of reckoning.”
McCarthy added that Biden has "lost" the faith, trust and confidence of the American public. But he said the immediate concern right now is getting Americans safely out of Afghanistan by Biden's August 31 withdrawal deadline.
He called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring Congress back into session so members could get another Biden administration briefing on the situation in Afghanistan.
McCarthy accused Biden of being the only president – Republican or Democrat – that would allow the Taliban to dictate the terms of US troop removal in Afghanistan and said Biden's speech to the nation on Thursday night following the terrorist attack on US service members was "a picture of weakness and incompetence."
Biden has come under fire for his handling of the Afghanistan crisis, where the Taliban took over the country more than one week ago.
The criticism of the President increased after Thursday’s suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, in which at least 70 people were killed, including 13 US servicemembers.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Thursday joined a wave of other Republicans calling on Biden to resign.
Hawley said in a statement issued by his office that Biden “has now overseen the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan in over a decade, and the crisis grows worse by the hour.”
“This is the product of Joe Biden’s catastrophic failure of leadership,” he added. “It is now painfully clear he has neither the will nor the capacity to lead. He must resign,” he continued.
Blackburn issued her demand in a tweet, also calling for the resignations of Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)