State Department deputy: task force coordinating Afghan evacuations; ~140 volunteered

Sen. Mitt Romney questioned the State Department’s deputy secretary about ongoing efforts to evacuate Afghans who worked with U.S. forces, saying the Afghanistan withdrawal was "a very sad day" and expressing concern that many people who assisted the U.S. remain in the country.

Deputy Secretary McKeon said the department has a task force led by former Ambassador Beth Jones to coordinate how people are being moved out of Afghanistan. "We have a task force that's led by a former ambassador, Beth Jones," McKeon said, describing operations that facilitate travel from Afghanistan to transit points or "lily pads" at U.S. military bases in the Middle East and then onward to the United States for resettlement activities.

McKeon told the senator the task force has seen turnover as staff returned to their regular duties and that the department recently issued a new call for recruits; "140 or so people raised their hands," she said. She added there are staff working at military bases in the Middle East from State and USAID to support resettlement operations.

McKeon said the department's priority is U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents but that it is also "working to evacuate Afghans at risk and other people closely associated with the United States government." She noted that some applicants for the Special Immigrant Visa program already have visas and that the department is making arrangements to try to place them on flights to safety.

Sen. Romney said he would support additional resources if needed. "If there's need for additional resources, financial resources to provide additional personnel to speed this process, I would, for one, be very anxious to provide that support," he said, adding it is a "moral responsibility" to help those who helped U.S. forces and to "leave no one behind."

McKeon said she would provide a more precise count of staff assigned to the task force later. The exchange concluded with McKeon describing both the operational steps (transit points and military base coordination) and the department’s prioritization of U.S. citizens, green-card holders and SIV holders while recruitment continues.