Ranking Member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs’ confirmation hearing for Kevin Wersh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for chair of the Federal Reserve, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on April 21, 2026.
Andrew Harnik | getty images
Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from the leader of the U.S. Transportation Command about his role in evacuating American citizens from the Middle East after the start of the Iran war, in a letter first shared with CNBC.
The Massachusetts Democrat has been generally critical of the Trump administration’s response to Americans stranded in the region since the Feb. 28 attack on Iran by the US and Israel. But in a letter sent to the Transcom Commander General Randall Reed Late Tuesday night, he questioned whether his office had been provided with accurate information about the response.
According to Warren, Transcom told her office in March that it had not been contacted by the State Department to assist in the evacuation of Americans working for non-U.S. government entities. On March 12, during an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which Warren is a member, Reed told the senator that the State Department had requested assistance on February 28.
“There was a significant discrepancy between what was communicated to my office prior to the hearing and the information you provided at the hearing,” Warren wrote. “And more than a month after that hearing, my office has still not received any information from your order to support your testimony.”
TRANSCOM, the Defense Department unit that coordinates land, air and sea transportation, did not respond to a request for comment.
In the days after the war began, Americans in the area reported feeling trapped. Some complained that they were getting mixed signals from the US government.
On March 2, the State Department warned Americans in 14 countries to “leave now”, causing panic. Some US citizens said they were released fight for yourselfAlthough at the time the State Department said that they were Increasing flights to American To exit the area.
Congressional caseworkers — staffers who deal directly with constituents — told CNBC in March that the process of arranging safe transit from the Middle East was chaotic and scary in some cases.
“People over there who are in the Middle East just want to go but they have no way to go, they’re scared, they’re scared and they feel abandoned,” a Democratic caseworker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the press, said at the time. “Their families here are scared and traumatized and wondering why the U.S. government hasn’t brought their loved one home.”
In her letter, Warren asked for detailed information about Transcom’s efforts to date in evacuating American citizens, as well as its ability to evacuate American citizens if there is no ceasefire in Lebanon.
Warren wrote, “The American people have a right to know whether the Trump Administration used all its tools to pull Americans out of the Middle East after President Trump launched an illegal and unconstitutional war that endangered the lives of Americans throughout the region.”