Kinzinger Decries 'Shameful' Evacuation After Afghanistan Withdrawal

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. (Aandrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)|

  

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., on Sunday called the evacuation of Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal was “a shameful moment in America.”

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,”the Air Force veteran decried the way 8,800 Afghans with Special Immigration Visas were evacuated out of the tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan who wanted to leave.

“This is a shameful moment in America,” he said. “And, unfortunately, we're so tribal that people are just, like, either going to go out and defend the administration or attack the last administration.”

“I think, frankly, both have screwed up Afghanistan,” Kinzinger added. “And we just want accountability for that. This is America's reputation. This is going to last for a long time. It's going to be a stain on our country. And, quite honestly right now the last of the resistance front is fighting a Taliban onslaught.”

Kinzinger also slammed a new Texas abortion law because it codified tattling.

“I’m pro-life. But what I don't like to see is this idea of every citizen being able to tattle, sue an Uber driver, be deputized to enforce this abortion law to whatever they want,” he said.

“I think if you're going to do something on abortion, it's a debate that we should have that's open and not just opening people up to be sued for any part in that process.”

“I also believe [that]rape and incest, life of the mother, health of the mother … any bill going forward should certainly take that into account and should certainly not be set up so that it's enforced by people using private right of action to sue somebody, versus just actually having an open and honest law,” he said.

The lawmaker also took aim at Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for telling telecommunications companies to not comply with the Jan. 6 investigation request for records from a committee on which Kinzinger serves.

“It’s really bad politics, I think, to say the least,” he said. “We as a committee, we have a right and we have the responsibility. And frankly we have the legal authority to go through the process of requesting…. Is it obstruction? I don't know what is considered obstruction of a congressional investigation, but I would certainly recommend he never go there again."