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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has hired Ryan Browne to serve as the investigator into the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that has played out in recent weeks for the Committee Republicans.

“What we saw in Afghanistan was a systemic failure of the federal government that led to the chaos and horrific devastation,” stated McCaul. “That resulted in the death of 13 American service members and the abandonment of American citizens, green card holders, and our Afghan partners in a country controlled by a brutal terrorist organization. While I appreciate the Secretary testifying before our committee yesterday, he once again provided us with little to no new information. It is time for Congress to use our Article I responsibility and begin a vigorous investigation into how this all went so badly.”

From 2015 to 2021 Browne served as a CNN reporter covering international security issues from the Pentagon and reported from countries around the world including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq and Israel, and also covered NATO. Prior to joining CNN, Browne was deployed with the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan as an embedded contractor adviser to the Afghan National Army from 2011 to 2013. Before that, he worked for the Center for the Study of the President and Congress as their Director of International Security Studies, where he produced several studies examining NATO’s role in Afghanistan and the contributions of the alliance’s member states.

“Oversight is a critical function of Congress, and I look forward to putting together a comprehensive, independent and facts-driven investigation,” stated Browne. “It is crucial we discover what led to the chaos of the emergency evacuation, and examine the administration’s failed efforts to evacuate all American citizens, green card holders, local allies and other vulnerable Afghans fearing reprisals from the Taliban. I am honored to be selected by Lead Republican McCaul for this investigation.”

Browne has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Harvard University, where he also played on the varsity football team.