GOP Lawmaker Reportedly Missing After Threatening US Embassy Staff in Tajikistan

Last week, Reps. Seth Moulton (R-MA) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) took a secret, unadvised trip to Kabul, Afghanistan, to conduct what they referred to as oversight of evacuation efforts. The two lawmakers were among several Republicans and Democrats who urged Biden to extend the withdrawal past the 31 August deadline.

On Tuesday, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R) became the latest US lawmaker to board a plane in the hopes of making a trip to Afghanistan. 

However, unlike his Republican colleagues Moulton and Meijer, Mullin was blocked from entering the Taliban-controlled country via Tajikistan. 

The 44-year-old allegedly threatened staffers at the US Embassy in Tajikistan when they rejected his request to get into the neighbouring country while transporting a large sum of cash, according to The Washington Post. 

Officials told the GOP lawmaker that they could not skirt Tajik law regarding the transportation of such a sum of cash. Mullin reportedly said he intended to use the money to rescue five American citizens: one woman and her four children. 

"To say this is extremely dangerous is a massive understatement", said one unnamed source at the US Department of State. 

As of this article's publication, US officials remain unaware of the GOP lawmaker's whereabouts. 

This is the second time Mullin has been blocked from entering Afghanistan. The 44-year-old politician previously travelled to Greece last week, but abandoned hopes of a trip to Kabul after the Pentagon denied his clearance.