WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined a letter to SASC Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) today requesting members get more time to question Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and Commander of U.S. Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie next week. This letter is a response to concerns that committee members would be capped at one round of five-minute questioning during the long-awaited hearing on the Biden Administration’s disastrous from Afghanistan, set for next Tuesday.

“[The hearing] offers an opportunity to begin the process of accountability for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. That process can only begin, though, if members are given the time required to ask tough questions of the witnesses before them,” the senators wrote. “We therefore ask for your assurance that members will be allowed to ask at least two rounds of questions during the open portion of the hearing on September 28th.”

Senators Cramer is joined on the letter by Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). 

This follows a letter sent by SASC Republicans earlier this month asking for more hearings with Biden Administration officials on the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. The senator has participated in two closed-door hearings on the withdrawal so far.


Click here to read the letter.