Congress bestows its highest honor on the 13 troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday presented Congress' highest honor — the Congressional Gold Medal — to 13 U.S. service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirled around the event.

Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to posthumously honor the 13 U.S. troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate at Kabul's Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in December 2021. On Tuesday, the top Republ...