Military

Exactly 80 years ago today, 353 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, propelling our nation fully into World War II. Today, we honor the 2,403 Americans who lost their lives on that fateful “date which will live in infamy." And we honor ALL who served during World War II, including more than 670,000 others who were wounded, and over 405,000 Americans would ultimately lay down their… Read more »

Please take just a moment to read this. Suicide rates among our active-duty military and veterans are at heartbreaking levels. Last year, 580 active-duty troops took their own lives, according to the Pentagon. That’s over 1½ every day, and it represents a 15 percent increase from the year prior. Meanwhile, our veterans are particularly at risk. The most recent report from the VA… Read more »

No question there would still be non-stop media coverage of Afghanistan had this disaster occurred under Trump's watch. ⛔️ Broadcasting an arbitrary withdrawal date to our enemies. ⛔️ A rapid draw-down of American operations while leaving seemingly HUNDREDS of critical, life-threatening details unattended. ⛔️ Staying the course despite every indication showing things spiraling out of… Read more »

BREAKING: I just learned that U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is scheduled to be released from the brig today, pending his trial. For those of you who called and wrote recently concerning this issue, thank you for reaching out. I quickly joined an effort in Congress last week asking that Lt. Col. Scheller be remanded to the least restrictive form of housing while awaiting his… Read more »

Earlier today, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC-5) introduced H.Res. 694, a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning the human rights violations targeted toward women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.   The Taliban has publicly claimed a more “progressive” view toward women's rights, but the UN High Commissioner for Human… Read more »

Despite what we were previously told by President Biden, yesterday we learned during Senate testimony that military commanders DID, in fact, advise Biden (and Trump) to keep at small contingency force in Afghanistan. They knew it would be necessary to keep the Taliban marginalized, help maintain peace in that region, and support our various intelligence operations. But wait…! Remember… Read more »

Having retired from the Navy, a man named Leonard Farrington felt such a strong call to action after the terrorist attacks of 9-11-2001, that he marched right back in to a recruitment office and tried to re-enlist. This time in the Marines. The only problem? Well, this WWII veteran was now 78 years old at the time. You just have to admire that level of patriotism and boldness. So… Read more »

It's been an exhausting week, but well worth it. We just wrapped up a series of in-person town halls all over the district, and I want to thank the hundreds of people who showed up. It was great to see and hear from so many folks! Also a special thanks to Rep. William Timmons who joined me in Spartanburg, the dozens of law enforcement officers who kept us all safe, and all the venues… Read more »

I'll be hosting seven (7) live, in-person town halls next week all throughout the congressional district. If you're interested in a legislative update from Congress and an opportunity to ask questions, this is your chance! Here's a link to my events page with details. We have a wide range of starting times, between noon and 5:30 PM, and a wide variety of venues. If you can't make it to… Read more »

Just a quick follow-up on this post from a few days ago for those who might be interested... H.R. 3985 is a bill meant to help translators and others from Afghanistan who served and aided American forces over there. Essentially it smooths the pathway for them to be issued Special Immigrant Visas. It came up for a vote earlier today in the House. Remember, these are people who risked… Read more »