2021 Afghan remarks haunt GOP lawmaker's Senate bid after DC Guard shooting

By Fox News · Fox News

Republican Kentucky lawmaker Andy Barr’s 2021 claim that the U.S. had an "obligation" to welcome Afghans after the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal is resurfacing and complicating his high-stakes 2026 Senate campaign after the footage went viral. "We have failed in our obligation to help many of these Afghans who risked their lives and, in many cases, died for the cause of their own country in assistance to the United States, and we owe them to help them get into our country with these visas, and the P1 and P2 visas as well," Barr said in a 2021 interview with Kentucky Educational Television of Afghans. "And I voted for these special immigrant visas because it would send a terrible message to our allies around the world that we’re going to abandon you if you help us in your time of need." Many Afghans worked as interpreters, cultural advisors and offered other assistance to the U.S. during the Afghan war. Dozens of Republican lawmakers and leaders supported welcoming Afghan allies amid the withdrawal, while simultaneously stressing the need to vet the refugees, including then-former President Donald Trump . Barr's 2026 Republican Senate opponent, Nate Morris, slammed him as having "blood on his hands" for his comments and previous support of a bill broadening special visas for Afghan refugees. STATE DEPARTMENT 'IMMEDIATELY' HALTS ALL AFGHAN PASSPORT VISAS FOLLOWING DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACK But Barr's campaign hit back against the criticisms in a comment to Fox News Digital, underscoring he did not vote for Biden’s Afghan resettlement program and that he wholeheartedly supports Trump's immigration policies. "Andy Barr voted against Biden’s Afghan resettlement program," the spokesperson said. "Andy Barr supports President Trump’s common sense border security plan — deporting all illegals and reforming our legal immigration system." Footage of Barr's interview has spread like wildfire on social media. It's racked up millions of views following the horrifi…