Schumer and Jeffries to attend medal ceremony for 13 service members killed in Afghanistan
By
Cami Mondeaux
September 9, 2024 11:41 am
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will attend the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony on Tuesday honoring the 13 service members who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The pair’s attendance makes them the two highest-ranking Democrats to meet with the Gold Star families since President Joe Biden attended a dignified transfer ceremony for the service members shortly after their deaths in 2021. The ceremony will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday and will be attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and families of the 13 service members.
The ceremony comes as Republicans look to highlight the Biden administration’s role in the Afghanistan withdrawal that ended in a suicide bombing outside Kabul International Airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and left several others behind as the Taliban regained control.
The ceremony also follows the long-awaited release of House Republicans’ report on their investigation into the withdrawal, which placed much of the blame on the Biden administration and minimized the role of former President Donald Trump, who initially signed the withdrawal deal.
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