{"id":2331119,"date":"2024-08-26T15:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T19:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-johnson-to-honor-families-of-abbey-gate-victims-with-congressional-gold-medal-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-26T15:10:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T19:10:21","slug":"mike-johnson-to-honor-families-of-abbey-gate-victims-with-congressional-gold-medal-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-johnson-to-honor-families-of-abbey-gate-victims-with-congressional-gold-medal-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Johnson to honor families of Abbey Gate victims with Congressional Gold Medal &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmike-johnson-to-honor-families-of-abbey-gate-victims-with-congressional-gold-medal-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2331119&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>House\u200b Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the families\u200d of the 13 U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-least-10-us-service-members-now-reported-killed-in-kabul-bombings-death-toll-likely-to-rise\/\" title=\"At Least 10 US Service Members Now Reported Killed In Kabul Bombings, \u2018Death Toll Likely To Rise\u2019\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">service members<\/a> killed<\/a> in the Abbey Gate \u200csuicide bombing during the Afghanistan withdrawal will receive \u2062the Congressional\u200d Gold Medal. This announcement coincides with the third\u2063 anniversary of the attack at \u2062Kabul Airport, which occurred in August 2021. Johnson described the Congressional Gold Medal as the\u200c highest honor Congress can bestow and emphasized the need to recognize the sacrifices made by these service members and their families. He condemned\u2063 the\u200b withdrawal as a\u2064 significant \u2063foreign\u2064 policy failure, \u2064stating it resulted in dire\u200c consequences and \u200demboldened\u2062 adversaries. Johnson noted \u2063that the \u200dact to honor the victims&#8217;\u200b families is overdue, acknowledging their ongoing suffering. The\u2063 bombing resulted in \u2062the deaths of 13 \u200bU.S. service members\u200b and 170 Afghan civilians, marking \u2063a tragic moment in the chaotic end of\u200d the \u2062U.S.\u200b military presence in \u200cAfghanistan.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mike Johnson to honor families of Abbey Gate victims with Congressional Gold Medal<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1713998\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>House Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA) revealed Monday that he will give the Congressional Gold Medal to family members of the 13 U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>service members<\/a> killed at Abbey Gate in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The announcement from Johnson was made on the third anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Kabul Airport, which occurred during the Biden administration&rsquo;s withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. Johnson explained that the Congressional Gold Medal is &ldquo;the highest honor that Congress can pay&rdquo; to anyone. He underscored the need to recognize the sacrifices made by the 13 service members and their families.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have to make sure that the American people know that sacrifice,&rdquo; Johnson said on Fox News&rsquo;s <em>Fox &amp; Friends<\/em>. &ldquo;It was the greatest foreign policy blunder of our lifetimes. It led to a series of other events and emboldened our adversaries around the world, and allowed the Taliban to take back over, and we effectively sacrificed 20 years of our effort in servicemen and women who served there. It was a terrible thing. But Congress is going to make it right as best as we can and honor them in that very important way.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px; min-width: 320px; min-height: 180px; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/share.grabien.com\/share.php?id=2566648&amp;userid=11311&amp;loginid=9421&amp;playercolor=%23000000&amp;playersize=auto&amp;code=712eaf0d14ad68d43b40aa7bc6257df3\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0px;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Johnson added that this commencement is &ldquo;overdue&rdquo; since the tragedy occurred three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-governor-breaks-his-own-covid-rules-to-eat-fancy-french-food\/\" title=\"Ca. Governor Breaks His Own COVID Rules To Eat Fancy French Food\">years ago<\/a> and that the family members of these service members are still suffering. He also said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Congress<\/a> would do all that it could &ldquo;in a bipartisan way&rdquo; to honor the families and said they deserve it.<\/p>\n<p>The United States&rsquo;s withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan was expedited in August 2021 from its original deadline of Sept. 11, 2021, during which the Taliban took over Afghanistan&rsquo;s government. On Aug. 26, a suicide bombing occurred at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3066833\/jen-psaki-agrees-interview-afghanistan-withdrawal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>which killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan citizens<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The members killed included Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak, and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> issued a statement Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/08\/26\/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-anniversary-of-the-terrorist-attack-outside-kabul-airport\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>commemorating the 13 members<\/a> and called them &ldquo;patriots in the highest sense.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">President Trump honors the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/video-of-pssed-off-gold-star-dad-should-end-joe-bidens-political-career\/\" title=\"Angry Gold Star Dad&#039;s Video Could Ruin Biden&#039;s Political Future\">13 heroes killed<\/a> in the Harris-Biden botched Afghanistan withdrawal three years ago today &#127482;&#127480; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1KZMHvnV4h\">pic.twitter.com\/1KZMHvnV4h<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TrumpWarRoom\/status\/1828060387654181199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> visited Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath honoring the 13 members. <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/113027861043439219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>On Truth Social<\/a>, Trump condemned the Afghanistan withdrawal as &ldquo;the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our Country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1713998\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1713998\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike Johnson to Award Congressional Gold Medal to Families of Abbey Gate Victims<\/p>\n<p>House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced on Monday that he will present the Congressional Gold Medal to the families of the 13 U.S. service members who lost their lives at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan. This announcement coincided with the third anniversary of the terrorist attack at Kabul Airport, which took place during the Biden administration&#8217;s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Johnson stated that the Congressional Gold Medal represents &#8220;the highest honor that Congress can bestow&#8221; and emphasized the importance of acknowledging the sacrifices made by these service members and their families. He remarked on Fox News\u2019s Fox &amp; Friends, \u201cWe must ensure that Americans recognize this sacrifice.\u201d He described it as &#8220;the greatest foreign policy blunder of our lifetimes,&#8221; which led to a series of negative consequences, including empowering adversaries globally and allowing the Taliban to regain control, effectively undoing two decades of effort by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson noted that this recognition is &#8220;overdue,&#8221; given that three years have passed since this tragedy occurred, and family members continue to endure pain from their loss. He assured that Congress would strive to honor these families in a bipartisan manner because they deserve it.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. military&#8217;s withdrawal from Afghanistan was accelerated in August 2021 ahead of its original deadline set for September 11, 2021, during which time the Taliban regained power over Afghanistan\u2019s government. On August 26, a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members along with 170 Afghan citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The fallen service members included Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover; Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo; Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee; Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez; Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page; Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A Sanchez; Marine Corps Lance Cpl.s David L Espinoza, Jared M Schmitz, Rylee J McCollum, Dylan R Merola and Kareem M Nikoui; Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W Soviak; and Army Staff Sgt Ryan C Knauss.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden released a statement on Monday honoring these service members as \u201cpatriots in every sense.\u201d Former President Donald Trump also paid tribute by visiting Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath for them and criticized Biden&#8217;s handling of the withdrawal as \u201cthe most EMBARRASSING moment in our country\u2019s history\u201d on Truth Social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2632,"featured_media":2331120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Speaker-Mike-Johnson-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[39291,39315,34218,39316],"class_list":["post-2331119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-abbey-gate","tag-congressional-gold-medal","tag-mike-johnson","tag-victims-families"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Speaker-Mike-Johnson-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2331119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2331119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2331119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2331120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2331119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2331119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2331119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}