Republicans urge Trump not to 'abandon' Afghan wartime allies

Leading foreign policy Republicans on Tuesday issued a rare criticism of US President Donald Trump's purge of the diplomatic corps, urging the administration not to dismantle the State Department agencies charged with assisting Washington's former Afghan partners to resettle in America.

Congressman Mike Lawler, who chairs the House Middle East subcommittee, along with former foreign affairs committee chairman Mike McCaul and Congressman Richard Hudson, sent a letter to President Trump urging him not to dismantle the State Department’s Office of the Co-ordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (Care), and its Enduring Welcome programme.

“Such a decision would abandon over 200,000 wartime allies and have lasting consequences for America's global credibility, military operations, and veterans,” the Republicans wrote, describing the potential move as “an urgent national security matter.”

The Enduring Welcome programme was established for Washington to resettle in the US “tens of thousands of brave Afghan allies at risk who worked closely with us diplomats, aid workers and military personnel” over the course of the Afghan war.

“These are not random applicants or illegal migrants … every individual in the Enduring Welcome pipeline served alongside American forces, risked their lives for our mission and was promised a path to safety,” the letter continued.

Threats of programme closure under the Trump administration come after a month of sweeping executive actions aimed at US federal workers and a halt on foreign aid – causing chaos in US diplomatic and humanitarian missions around the globe.

The Republican signatories have been among those on Capitol Hill to lead investigations into the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021.

Mr McCaul led a Congressional probe into the withdrawal that saw the Taliban seize Kabul and a deadly attack at the city's airport that killed at least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American troops.

Republicans have largely fallen in line with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency purge of federal programmes and workers. The letter expressing “concern” marks a rare moment of criticism from Mr Trump's fellow party members.

His cut to US foreign assistance has already stressed operations in Afghanistan, including threats of depriving more than nine million people of health and protection services, with hundreds of mobile health teams being discontinued.