North Carolina Republican Rep. Ted Budd sent a letter on Tuesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand answers to the State Department’s plans to evacuate Americans in Ukraine who want to leave.
“Given the Biden administration’s failure to protect Americans during last year’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the letter expresses rightful concern about the safety of American citizens abroad,” Budd said in a statement released with the letter.
Given the fact that the Biden administration stranded an unknown number of Americans in Afghanistan last year, we are rightfully concerned for the fate of American citizens again in harm's way in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/t6cuOGXA99
— Congressman Ted Budd (@RepTedBudd) January 25, 2022
The letter expressed concern over the White House’s admission that the number of Americans in Ukraine is unknown.
“It is troubling that State Department officials and the White House recently admitted that the United States does not have a ‘solid number’ of Americans in Ukraine,” Budd wrote.
“When President Biden’s remarks about accepting a ‘minor incursion’ from Russia are taken into account, the American people are rightly concerned about the fate of citizens caught in the middle of this volatile situation,” he added.
Budd noted that his concerns over Americans in Ukraine are also heightened due to the Biden administration’s failures in safely evacuating Americans from Afghanistan last year.
“Given the fact that the Biden administration stranded an unknown number of Americans in Afghanistan during last year’s withdrawal, I write to you with extreme concern for the fate of American citizens again in harm’s way in Ukraine,” he wrote.
The congressman requested responses to three specific questions in the letter:
Given Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s broad estimate that “a range of 10 to 15,000” Americans are in Ukraine right now, does the Biden administration know the exact number of Americans who may be in need of evacuation from Ukraine?
If Russia invades Ukraine, does the Biden administration have a plan to evacuate every American in Ukraine who wants to leave?
What steps is the Biden administration willing to take to keep U.S. citizens in Ukraine safe if Russia does invade?
Budd spoke out on behalf of American troops in his own state who could be called upon for deployment from Fort Bragg over the situation with Russia and Ukraine in another post on Tuesday.
“God Bless the brave men and women from Fort Bragg as they prepare to deploy. You have our prayers and our support,” he wrote on Twitter.
God Bless the brave men and women from Fort Bragg as they prepare to deploy. You have our prayers and our support. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/IcysdgUdTf
— Congressman Ted Budd (@RepTedBudd) January 25, 2022
The Daily Wire previously reported that up to 8,500 U.S. military personnel have been placed on heightened alert this week:
Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration put thousands of U.S. soldiers on heightened alert on Monday as the situation in Eastern Europe deteriorates amid a possible invasion by Russian forces.
“I want to provide some facts on these preparations that will reinforce our commitment to NATO and to the NATO Response Force and increase our readiness,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. “Secretary Austin has placed a range of units in the United States on a heightened preparedness to deploy, which increases our readiness to provide forces if NATO should activate the NRF or if other situations developed.
Kirby added, “All told, the number of forces that the Secretary has placed on heightened alert comes up to about 8,500 personnel.”
The development comes as Russia has amassed approximately 100,000 soldiers near the Ukrainian border and is demanding concessions from the West, including never allowing Ukraine to join NATO. NATO has indicated that what Russia is demanding are nonstarters for the organization.