The father of one of the U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan during the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal called on President Joe Biden to "be a grown-ass man" and admit his role in the disaster.
"Do what our son did, be a grown-ass man—admit to your mistakes," Darin Hoover, whose son Darin T. Hoover died in a terrorist suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, said during a congressional forum in California on Monday.
Hoover called on Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other Biden administration officials "to resign immediately."
Monday's hearing featured testimony from Gold Star families of some of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the 2021 ISIS attack. The families spoke at the city hall in Escondido, Calif.
The Biden administration withdrew American forces from Afghanistan in August 2021. The country quickly fell to the Taliban, who seized billions of dollars' worth of U.S. military equipment. The ISIS attack at the airport took place amid the chaotic evacuation of the country. The Biden administration has still not properly vetted 88,000 Afghan refugees who fled to the United States after the Taliban took over.
"Our sons and daughters have more integrity in their little toes than every one of them combined," Hoover said, referring to the Biden administration officials who oversaw the exit from the war-torn country.
Hoover's son was 31 years old when he was killed. "Mamma I'm safe, I love you," was the final text Hoover sent to his mother before a terrorist detonated a suicide vest.
House Republicans are pushing legislation to force the State Department to disclose classified information that could show the Biden administration knew in advance the withdrawal would be chaotic.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in May after reviewing a classified cable from State Department officials at the time of the withdrawal that the Biden administration did not heed warnings from U.S. officials on the ground.
The Biden administration has declined to take responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal. White House spokesman John Kirby in April placed blame on the Trump administration, saying the Biden administration was not given plans for the withdrawal during its transition into office. Kirby said "not everything" about the withdrawal was "perfect" but that there is a lot to be "proud of."
Amid the chaotic withdrawal, Biden said he had no regrets about how the exit was handled. Days after the ISIS attack on U.S. service members, the president said the withdrawal was an "extraordinary success."