Thread by @joshrogin

BREAKING: @sethmoulton & @RepMeijer flew to Kabul airport today "to conduct oversight on the mission to evacuate Americans and our allies," Moulton's office says in a new statement. They have now left Kabul after several hours on the ground. 1/?

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer "Washington should be ashamed of the position we put our service members in, but they represent the best in America," they said in a joint statement. "These men and women have been run ragged and are still running strong. Their empathy and dedication to duty are truly inspiring."

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer They changed their minds on extending the Aug 31 deadline: "After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time, even by Sept 11."

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer Multiple sources told me that the White House was not informed about the trip in advance and was pissed about it. Moulton and Meiijer flew to the UAE and hopped on a military jet into Kabul airport without telling the Biden administration anything.

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer On the ground, multiple sources told me State Dept and military personnel were pissed off because they had to divert scarce resources to minding two Congressmen. But Moulton and Meiijer, both veterans, tried to minimize their impact on ongoing operations.

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer The trip was kept secret for safety purposes. The two lawmakers waited to fly out until there was a plane leaving with two empty seats, so they wouldn't be taking seats away from others. But still, it would be wrong to say their visit didn't cause some disruption.

@sethmoulton @RepMeijer We'll learn more when Moulton and Meijer land & start talking (call me maybe?) but this whole episode shows how deep is Congressional frustration with the Biden admini's handling of this entire affair, as everyone realizes many innocent people are about to be abandoned. END

Reaction from an official upset with this excursion: “There wasn’t a fucking Congressional delegation flying into Saigon.”