Top Military Officials Testify Before Senate Lawmakers

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley are testifying before Senate lawmakers today. Their testimonies mark the first time top military officials will appear before Congress since the withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan. Austin and Milley will be joined by the leader of U.S. Central Command General Frank McKenzie who played a key role in facilitating the evacuation from Kabul. All three are expected to face questions about the nature of the withdrawal, be pressed to explain the Biden administration’s plan for conducting counter-terrorism missions in the country going forward and be called upon to answer for the failures that led to the drone strike that killed 10 civilians including 7 children in Kabul.

The hearing before the Senate’s Armed Services Committee comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the evacuation efforts during congressional hearings earlier this month. Blinken was the first member of the Biden administration to publicly account for the events in Afghanistan before Congress and currently remains the only senior official to testify on the topic.