Bronx, NY—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“No doubt the President and his allies will privately cheer the retirement of Lt. Colonel Vindman, who’s been the target of bullying and retaliation since he courageously told the truth about the President’s corruption and abuse of power. That’s how this administration works. That’s how the President and his enablers regard public servants—in uniform or otherwise—who uphold their oaths to the constitution, rather than giving into the cult of personal loyalty that has rotted our government from the inside for the last three and a half years.

“During his impeachment inquiry testimony, Lt. Col. Vindman implored his father, who fled the Soviet Union decades ago: ‘Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.’ He believed that in the United States, we honor and protect those who honor and protect our country. When the aberration of the Trump era finally ends in six months, we will have a lot of work to do to restore the vision of America that Lt. Colonel Vindman and his father shared. But we will get there and Lt. Colonel Vindman will rightly be viewed as the heroic embodiment of courage and service to this country.

“I’m grateful for his service and I wish him well.”

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