Republicans plotting to give Afghanistan withdrawal the Benghazi treatment

Democrats have already said that they intend to investigate the role of the former Donald Trump administration and current Joe Biden administration in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. But Republicans announced that if they take back the House and Senate they will give Biden's withdrawal the Benghazi treatment, CNN reported.

The bombing of the embassy in Benghazi was probed ten different times with 33 hearings, costing taxpayers over $7 million. Then House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy linked the GOP probe of Benghazi to a dip in Hillary Clinton's 2016 poll numbers.

"But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable. But no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen," said McCarthy.

"This makes Benghazi look like a much smaller issue," Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) told CNN. "This may be one of the worst and most consequential foreign policy and national security disasters in our history. There will be a lot of answers to seek and questions to be answered, and I think it will be a top priority."

"After the disastrous events in Afghanistan, we must confront a serious question: Is Joe Biden capable of discharging the duties of his office or has time come to exercise the provisions of the 25th Amendment?" tweeted Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is up for reelection in 2024.

"I think this is way worse than Benghazi. Without a doubt," claimed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who is seeking reelection next year.

If Democrats beat the GOP to the investigation, they will likely uncover interviews with Trump's former Secretaries of Defense, both of whom have said that the agreement with the Taliban was never going to work or, according to Chris Miller, was a "play."

According to Miller, "many Trump administration officials expected that the United States would be able to broker a new shared government in Afghanistan composed primarily of Taliban officials. The new government would then permit U.S. forces to remain in country to support the Afghan military and fight terrorist elements." That deal never happened, but Miller said that the May 1 withdrawal was never actually going to be met because of the deal Trump wanted with the Taliban.

Esper told CNN International this week that Trump "undermined the agreement" and he warned without a slower withdrawal "we would see a number of things play out, which are unfolding right now in many ways." Trump moved forward anyway, going so far as to say that he wanted all Afghan troops home by Christmas 2020.

Read the full CNN.com report here.