Yesterday, Senator Joni Ernst blasted President Joe Biden for his response to the botched and hasty exit of Afghanistan. For Senator Ernst, this is personal. As the first female combat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate and a veteran of the Global War on Terror, Sen. Ernst is a leading voice for the absence of leadership we are seeing from the White House. Months before the exit, Senator Ernst was warning America about the consequences of a hasty withdraw.

In a statement after Biden's national address Senator Ernst said:

"After days of avoiding the press and the American people, President Biden’s bad faith spin of his catastrophic exit and gross mishandling of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan is insulting. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is shameful, a sincere tragedy, and a complete leadership failure by this president—and it was all entirely avoidable."

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“To so many—to my fellow servicemembers and the men and women who served in Afghanistan—it feels like our nation has squandered their tremendous sacrifices. But I want them to hear the words this president has too often failed to say: thank you—we are forever grateful for your sacrifice and that of your families.

“As we move through these tumultuous days, the United States, this administration, must be clear-eyed and straight forward with the American people about what could result from this rushed and mishandled exit: a reinvigorated Taliban in Afghanistan could lead to increased threats of terrorist attacks and endanger our national security."

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