Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), with Sen. Angus King (I-ME) (L), speak as Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander of the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (USNORTHCOM), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Security Affairs Mark Ditlevson, and Principal Deputy General Counsel of the War Department Charles Young III, in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Appeared at the hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Capitol Hill. DC.
Andrew Harnik | getty images
Senator Elizabeth Warren on Thursday questioned why the US Transportation Command and the State Department are not doing more to evacuate American citizens stranded in the Middle East amid the war with Iran.
The Massachusetts Democrat told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that thousands of American citizens may still be trapped in the region and that the Trump administration has been too slow to act on the violence spreading from Iran to surrounding countries.
Warren said, “Let’s be clear, the Trump administration chose this war. They planned this war for months, and they made no plans to protect the thousands of Americans in the region. There is no excuse for this.”
Americans reported feeling trapped in the region in the days immediately following the outbreak of the war. The US State Department’s warning to US citizens in 14 countries to “leave now” sparked an uproar, with some saying they had been quarantined. Fighting for yourself. Amid criticism, the State Department said last week that they were Increasing flights to American To exit the area.
While President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that the war would end “very soon,” there is no immediate end in sight, and Americans in the region are constantly trying to deal with the evolving regional conflict.
The State Department has published regular updates on the number of Americans who have relocated out of the region since Trump declared war with Iran on February 28, and on Thursday a spokesman said about 47,000 citizens had returned to the US
The State Department has completed more than two dozen charter flights and the number of seats offered on those flights currently exceeds demand, the spokesperson said.
“While commercial flight availability continues to improve across the region, state charter flight and ground transportation operations continue,” the spokesperson said, declining to be named when responding to an email sent to the agency’s media inquiry account.
Gen. Randall Reed, commander of TRANSCOM, testified at Thursday’s hearing that his command had helped evacuate hundreds of Americans from the area.
But Warren said the effort has fallen short.
“I’m trying to understand why you’re not doing more,” Warren asked Reed. “Because I’m hearing from my constituents who are stuck there for two weeks and they’re asking for help, and they’re not getting help from the American government.”
bringing the americans home
While many Americans have moved and some are choosing to stay in the region, others are still stranded. A State Department spokesperson said the department was “now working 24/7 to bring Americans home.”
Some MLAs are taking matters into their own hands.
Representative. Nancy Mace, R.S.C., Posted on x She traveled to the Middle East this week to help a family from her district who was stuck there.
“The family I traveled here to see is home safe. But then I learned about more families. Hundreds of families. Thousands. Still stranded,” Mays wrote.
Congressional caseworkers, who interrogate allied constituents, have similarly reported that Americans felt trapped and frustrated by the federal government’s response to the war.
A Senate Democratic caseworker — who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press — said he has heard from constituents in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Israel and Kuwait. Some are tourists, others students or Americans in the area for work, in some cases with their families.
“There are people out there in the Middle East who just want to go but they have no way to go, they’re scared, they’re scared and they feel abandoned,” the caseworker said. “Their families here are scared and traumatized and wondering why the U.S. government hasn’t brought their loved one home.”
The Senate caseworker and House Democratic caseworker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, both said inconsistent messaging from the government didn’t help.
The House aide said that in the early days of the war, Americans in the area were instructed to shelter in place. But “Sign out now” message There was a stir on 2 March. Airspace was closed in many countries in the region, making passage home impossible for commercial flights. The government provided a phone number for a helpline, but there were long wait times. When they left, they were told several times that they had reached yourselfThe caseworker said.
“What we were hearing from constituents was complete panic,” the House aide said.