Speaker Johnson Cut Afghan-Relocation Office From NDAA, Politico Confirms
House Republicans have quietly removed a key provision that would have reinstated a U.S. office designed to help Afghan allies resettle in America, a move that drew immediate condemnation from the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove. According to reporting by Politico, House Speaker Mike Johnson dropped language from the 2026 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have re-created the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). That office had managed the relocation of Afghan citizens who served alongside U.S. troops.
Kamlager-Dove introduced the Enduring Welcome Act in August, aiming to codify CARE’s role in Afghan resettlement. In a social-media post, she wrote that removing the provision amounted to “a stab in the back to the Afghan allies who served alongside our troops to keep Americans safe.” (See screenshot.)
According to sources familiar with the NDAA negotiations, the CARE-restoration language remained in the draft NDAA as recently as last Friday but was cut over the weekend — reportedly as Republicans sought to respond to heightened political pressure after the November shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan who’d been granted asylum.
When the final NDAA text was released on December 7, it contained no reference to CARE or any provision for Afghan relocation efforts. House and White House officials have not publicly responded to calls for comment on the omission.
With CARE effectively shelved, supporters and Afghan-ally advocates are left wondering whether a standalone legislative effort remains viable. Observers say that without the protection of the annual defense bill, re-authorization may face a challenging path — especially amid rising partisan tensions over refugee and asylum policy.
What happens next: It is unclear whether Kamlager-Dove and other lawmakers will seek to reintroduce the Enduring Welcome Act as a separate bill or attempt to fold CARE language into other legislation next year. Until then, Afghan allies awaiting relocation may remain in limbo.
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