Washington, DC: In one of the strongest public accusations linked to the White House shooting, the Department of Homeland Security has directly blamed the former Joe Biden administration for the decisions that led to the killing of National Guard member Specialist Sarah Beckstrom.
Kristi Noem, who now serves as Secretary at Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said the attack would never have happened if the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had been stopped at the vetting stage. The alleged shooter has been charged with first-degree murder after Beckstrom died from her injuries.
"This individual's application to be in this country started under the Joe Biden administration. The consequences of the shooting and the death of Sarah are directly on the shoulders of Joe Biden and his administration," Noem said.
Her comments came as the second wounded National Guard member, 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, continues to fight for his life.
Lakanwal, 29, arrived in the United States in 2021 during the "Operation Allies Welcome" airlift that followed the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. That evacuation brought thousands of Afghans to the United States, many without complete documentation, a decision critics say created long-term security gaps.
Speaking about that period, Noem argued that the previous administration failed to complete the kind of in-depth background checks the situation required. "If you remember, during that operation, when Afghanistan was abandoned, people were put on aircraft and brought to the United States. The administration at that time said that they would vet them, but did not do a thorough investigation," she said.
She contrasted that approach with the present system under the Donald Trump administration, saying that the new rules include full biometric checks along with scrutiny of social media history, communications and personal contacts, steps she says were missing in 2021.
"They only checked names and a few data points, but President Trump has put in place biometric information, checking social media platforms, communications and contacts. The Biden administration never did that. He brought them in and said we would vet them later. This is how things like these happen," she added.
In a separate statement, the DHS called the earlier admissions process an "act of national self-sabotage" and said the suspect should never have passed through immigration at all. The department has now halted all immigration requests from Afghan nationals indefinitely while its security protocols undergo review.
"The monster who carried out the attack in DC should never have been in this country. The Biden Administration let him, and countless others, in, an act of national self-sabotage," the statement said.
Although Washington, DC does not allow capital punishment, Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that she will pursue the death penalty for Lakanwal, citing national security concerns. Her announcement aligns with President Trump's earlier position that his administration would seek capital punishment in every murder case that takes place in the capital.
The US president has previously said he intends to pause migration from all "third-world countries" to overhaul the US immigration system and stop what he described as illegal entries through administrative loopholes.