Show an ad over header. AMP

Democratic lawmakers urge Biden to reconsider Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline

24 August 2021
Dan Ackermann

Several Democratic lawmakers are calling on Biden to push back the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, arguing that U.S. military presence is crucial to the safe evacuation of both Americans and Afghan partners.

Driving the news: Three members of the Armed Services Committee urged the president to reconsider the deadline following a classified congressional briefing from administration officials on the situation in Afghanistan.

What they’re saying: “The cries for help are not ones we can ignore,” Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said at press conference following the briefing.

  • Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger who served two combat tours in Afghanistan, said, “the deadline is when the mission is accomplished, and we bring our people home.”
  • “Make no mistake, this evacuation is an extremely dangerous mission and it's set to get more dangerous in the coming days,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Va.), a former U.S. navy helicopter pilot. “I requested that the SecDef and SecState encourage the President in the strongest possible terms to reconsider that deadline.”

Between the lines: There is considerable distance between Democratic lawmakers and the administration on the correct course out of Afghanistan.

  • Kim told Axios after the news conference that the contingency of members who want the deadline extended is significant and bipartisan. 
  • Pressed again in a classified briefing today by Crow about how many Americans are still in Afghanistan Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Milley, declined to provide any estimates, two sources in the room confirmed to Axios' Alayna Treene.

The other side: Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) introduced legislation last week that, if passed, would limit the Defense Department’s ability to withdraw forces until evacuation is complete unless there is an imminent threat of hostilities. 

  • The legislation would also require the Secretary of Defense to issue a daily report to Congress regarding the ongoing evacuation operation in Afghanistan, including the number of Americans still in country.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.