But, Pelosi said, State and Defense officials have urged lawmakers not to travel to the high-risk region “during this time of danger”.
“Member trips to Afghanistan and the surrounding countries would divert unnecessary resources from the priority mission of safely and expeditiously evacuating America and vulnerable Afghans from Afghanistan,” Pelosi said in the letter on Tuesday evening.
Meijer and Moulton said their trip was “to gather information, not to go into the stands”.
The two raised concerns about their resource consumption, saying they “departed on an airplane with empty seats, seats for the crew only, to ensure that no one who needs a seat loses one due to our presence.”
Moulton spokesman Tim Biba said the two lawmakers paid for their own flights to the United Arab Emirates “out of pocket” and then took military flights to and from Kabul.
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The trips take place while the White House, military and diplomatic officials go on a trip massive, dangerous airlift campaign in the country that saw the sudden collapse of its US-backed government just last week. The situation on the ground has deteriorated rapidly as the Taliban tighten their control over the country.
Moulton and Meijer said they went on their trip to advocate extending the deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan until the end of the month, but after their trip they believed that “it is evident that, because we started the evacuation so late, it doesn’t matter, “What we do, we won’t all get out on time, not even by September 11th.”
“Unfortunately and frustratingly, our people’s release depends on maintaining the current bizarre relationship with the Taliban,” they said.
When asked about the note, Pelosi later told reporters that a “large number” of members had asked about travel.
The trip was reported first by The Associated Press.
Both Moulton and Meijer voted by proxy on Tuesday. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) Voted for Moulton and Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah) voted for Meijer.
Moulton was one of the most critical members of Biden’s own party to speak up.
“To say that today is anything but a catastrophe would be dishonest. Worse, it was preventable, ”Moulton, a Marine who completed four tours of Iraq, said in a statement last week.
Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
