West Virginia Senator Condemns Inadequate Afghan Evacue Vetting Amid Shooting Tragedy

West Virginia state senator and active-duty National Guardsman Tom Willis responded to the shooting of two West Virginia Guard members, 20-year-old Sara Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, in Washington, D.C., during an interview on “National Report.” Willis expressed condolences to the families of the victims, noting that one of the wounded service members, Wolfe, is from his hometown.

In response to renewed scrutiny over the vetting of Afghan evacuees following the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Willis criticized what he called inadequate screening under the Biden administration. “It’s just foolish to bring 70,000 persons, approximately, from a country that has been at war for decades. That’s a Muslim nation. We know that some percentage are going to be radicalized either currently or later. And so it’s just a foolish proposition to bring people to our country that haven’t been properly vetted,” Willis said.

Willis also addressed reports that the shooting suspect previously worked with U.S. agencies in Afghanistan, stating that such work was often transactional and did not necessarily reflect long-term alignment with American values.