Congress honors 13 troops killed during Kabul withdrawal as politics swirl around who is to blame

House Speaker Mike Johnson is hosting a ceremony to posthumously present Congress’ highest honor — the Congressional Gold Medal — to 13 U.S. service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. But the politics of a presidential election are swirling around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to honor the 13 U.S. troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near Kabul’s Airport in August 2021. But surrounding the event is a political back and forth over who is to blame for the rushed and deadly evacuation from Kabul.