Lawmakers from both parties 'angrily stormed out' of classified Afghanistan briefing after Biden admin refused to answer 'basic' questions: report



Multiple lawmakers from both parties "angrily stormed out" of a classified briefing on Afghanistan this week after Biden administration officials failed to answer simple questions about its ongoing evacuation efforts, CNN reported.

Citing three anonymous sources, the network said that both Republican and Democratic members of Congress "grew frustrated" after officials from the State Department, Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and Office of the Director of National Security "failed to answer their basic questions."

The walkout reportedly occurred during a Wednesday morning briefing for members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Though CNN did not specify the exact questioning, the report seemed to note the frustration revolved around the administration's failure to offer precise information regarding the number of American citizens who still remain in Afghanistan following the U.S. military's official withdrawal last month.

A day after the last U.S. plane departed Afghanistan on Aug. 30, President Biden said in a speech to the American public that "about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave."

Since then, the administration has continued to say that roughly 100 Americans still remain in the now Taliban-controlled country.

But some lawmakers said "they do not understand that accounting, given the department has said that they evacuated more than 75 Americans from Afghanistan through evacuation efforts in the last few weeks," CNN reported.

In any case, the administration has apparently been vague and imprecise with its information both in public addresses and in private meetings with lawmakers.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed to CNN's Jake Tapper on Wednesday that "everybody walked out" of the intelligence briefing earlier that day.

He added that either the administration is "not being transparent" or officials don't "know the answer to that question" regarding the number of Americans still stranded.

"The fact is, I believe there's still hundreds of Americans still left behind enemy lines. The majority of the interpreters that you and I talked about for so long did not get out," McCaul said. "And now we're getting reports of executions, beheadings of their families and themselves, horrific stories."

"I don't think they know all the answers, quite honestly," he declared of the administration.

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul discusses the FBI director stating that the agency is concerned that terrorist netwo… https://t.co/bkkgJPR0HM

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In response to a request for comment, a State Department spokesperson told CNN that "as a general matter, we do not comment on communications with Congress, especially those conducted in a classified setting."

Dr. Fauci says he 'strongly' supports local vaccine mandates for all school teachers and employees



Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that he strongly supported vaccine mandates for all eligible school teachers and employees.

Fauci made the comments during an interview by Jake Tapper on his CNN show.

"For anybody listening right now, any school districts or teachers, do you think," Tapper asked, "if we're talking about protecting kids, the smart decision would be for school districts and states to mandate vaccines for all those who are eligible for teachers, faculty and staff at schools?"

"I feel strongly that way, Jake, I really do," Fauci responded.

"I mean we want to protect our children, we want to keep them in school physically in the classroom. We've spoken often on this show on the deleterious effects of keeping kids out of school physically, mental health issues, social developmental issues," he explained.

"But if you're gonna do that, you've got to create a safe environment. And there are a few ways of doing that. One of the most important ways is to surround the children with people who are vaccinated if they are eligible to be vaccinated. And that means teachers and personnel in the school," Fauci continued.

"We got to maintain the safety of the children at the same time we provide them with an education in a way that does not hinder them in the way virtual learning does," he concluded.

Tapper responded, "An important lesson for anybody in a school board, or teachers' union, or school administrator to hear."

Fauci has said previously that he expected that local organizations would order their own vaccine mandates without the federal government issuing a national command.

"This is very serious business," Fauci said in August. "You would wish that people would see why it's so important to get vaccinated. But you're not going to get mandates centrally from the federal government."

Fauci also said Thursday that vaccines for children younger than 12 should be approved soon but he could not say when that might be.

"I hope that will be soon, but I can't guarantee it," he said.

Here's the video of Fauci's comments:

Asked if he believes it's a smart decision for Covid-19 vaccination to be mandated for all eligible teachers and st… https://t.co/o7bKSG825k
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Jake Tapper confronts Dem senator over Democrats' hypocrisy on using filibuster: 'But you've used it, too'



CNN host Jake Tapper confronted Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Tuesday over the Democratic Party's hypocrisy on the Senate filibuster.

What is the background?

Since regaining control of the White House and Senate, Democratic lawmakers have been pressuring their moderate colleagues — Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — to help them abolish the filibuster.

With the filibuster out of their way, Senate Democrats, now having control of Congress and the White House, would have the power to unilaterally enact their agenda — even if it meant tossing bipartisan notions to the wind.

Current Senate rules permit senators to speak on any issue for as long as they wish until the Senate votes to invoke cloture; this is done by the consent of 60 senators. Despite bills requiring only a simple majority to pass, legislation can be killed unless there is agreement to involve cloture. This is how the filibuster "kills" legislation.

What happened on CNN?

During the interview, Tapper asked why Democrats pushed the "For The People Act" knowing Republicans did not support the bill.

Blumenthal, who supports abolishing the filibuster now that Democrats are in power, rambled on about how the massive election reform bill is about "preserving the right to vote and stopping billionaires literally from buying elections." A confused Tapper noted that Democrats "control everything right now," and Blumenthal complained, in response, that despite their control, they cannot unilaterally enact their agenda because the filibuster acts a safeguard against one-party control.

"The filibuster rules, as the American people are beginning to understand, require us to have 60 votes just to proceed to debate, just to talk about the bill," Blumenthal said. "And that's why a lot of us, including many of our leaders, believe that we should tremendously modify the filibuster. I'm in favor of abolishing it."

That's when Tapper called out Blumenthal for doing exactly what he is complaining about Republicans doing.

"Senator, haven't you voted in favor of filibustering Republican legislation, not allowing them to even proceed to a discussion, an amendment process and debate on a bill?" Tapper asked.

"We have used the 60-vote threshold a number of times," Blumenthal admitted.

"But you're talking about it being corrupt, but you've used it, too," Tapper shot back.

Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal Called Out On Filibuster Hypocrisy: “You've Used It Too" www.youtube.com

Of course, only Republicans abuse the filibuster, the Democratic lawmaker went on to explain.

"The filibuster is a rule that stymies majority vote," Blumenthal said. "And in the 10 years since [I came to the Senate], I've seen my colleagues, one by one, decide that Republicans' overuse, abuse, and misuse of the filibuster rule — that 60-vote threshold — has led them to conclude enough is enough. And that's why there are just a handful of Democrats left who are in favor of preserving this arcane and abhorrent rule that the founders would have absolutely rejected."

"We are in no way going to abandon this fight," Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal discusses the procedural vote on… https://t.co/15qH8SB5d4

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) 1624396800.0