The shooting of two National Guard members standing watch just blocks from the White House has reignited national outrage over former President Joe Biden’s disastrous immigration and security policies, failures that President Trump says directly enabled the attack.
The alleged gunman, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. under Biden’s 2021 Operation Allies Welcome program, a rushed and deeply flawed resettlement effort launched after his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report, the program failed at every level. It found that DHS officers “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees,” allowing thousands into the country without reliable background checks.
Among them, authorities say, was Lakanwal, who opened fire on National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe as they patrolled the Capitol. Beckstrom was killed; Wolfe remains in grave condition.
President Trump called the attack “a preventable tragedy rooted in Joe Biden’s reckless policies,” adding, “This should never have happened. Biden brought unvetted people into our country, and innocent Americans are paying the price.”
Trump’s return to office brought long-awaited order to cities such as Washington besieged by crime under Democrat rule. His aggressive law-enforcement surge resulted in the arrest of thousands of illegal criminal aliens, drug dealers, gang members, and muggers who had been terrorizing neighborhoods.
Chafing under Trump’s success, some members of Congress went on air urging military personnel to ignore the President’s lawful orders to detain criminals and illegal immigrants—actions now under Justice Department investigation for potential treason. Critics charge their rhetoric incites this type of deadly behavior, just as it did the murder of Conservative icon Charlie Kirk and the two would-be assassins of President Trump.
Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to seek the death penalty for Lakanwal, calling the ambush “not just a crime but an attack on America itself.” As President Trump said, “We are here because Biden failed to protect our country. That ends now.”