GOP Congressman ‘Missing’ In Afghanistan After Apparent Individual Rescue Effort

NEW YORK (VINnews) — United States Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has reportedly gone missing while trying to enter Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover and chaotic U.S. departure.

The Washington Post reported that Mullin called the US ambassador to Tajikistan Monday and asked for help in bringing a large sum of cash from nearby Tbilisi, Georgia in order to undertake a helicopter rescue mission to extricate an American citizen and her four children who are still in Afghanistan after the last American soldier left Tuesday. Embassy officials told Mullin they could not assist him in skirting Tajikistan’s laws on cash limits on his way to visiting “one of the most dangerous places on earth,” according to the Post. Mullin then reportedly threatened ambassador John Mark Pommersheim and his staff.

On Tuesday night it was reported that Mullin was ‘missing’ but after the report emerged, a spokesperson for Mullin claimed that he “has been and is currently completely safe.” The statement did not include a clarification on his location.

“To say this is extremely dangerous is a massive understatement,” a State Department official told the Post. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, fewer than 200 American citizens who want to leave remain in the country.

Mullin, a Native American, is an outspoken critic of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and has attempted on more than one occasion to enter the country but was denied permission by the Pentagon. Prior to the end of the military mission in Afghanistan, the departments of Defense and State both urged lawmakers not to travel to Afghanistan; when asked on Tuesday about Mullin’s whereabouts, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “went silent and walked off,” according to the Post.