Gold Star families provided their first-ever testimony on the deadly Afghan withdrawal during a congressional forum on Monday, where they torched the Biden administration over the botched exit from Afghanistan. The families accused President Biden of using the withdrawal as a political ploy, while demanding answers for their loved ones' deaths.

One of the parents who testified was Steve Nikoui, who lost his son Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui during the Kabul airport bombing on August 26, 2021. Nikoui, along with 12 other service members, was killed in the attack. Nikoui spoke out on Tuesday, expressing his belief that his son was collateral damage in Biden's “photo-op” to claim victory over America's longest war.

Nikoui criticized the administration, stating, "The singularity that I got from this whole thing was that... it's part of the problem with what's wrong with society today... anything at the cost of optics. And that's what this was. This was the optics of Joe Biden to get his... September 11th... I've terminated this 20-year war, etc., etc... These 13 kids, they were killed for that photo-op. That was it."

Many of the families also accused the Biden administration of lying about the botched exit. Nikoui revealed that he was given false information and knew that high-level officials were lying to him about the details of his son's tragic passing. He explained, "We had an after-action report. I remember I think a general came over to our house and told us about it, explained it to us. And in talking to the other families recently... it was obvious that everyone's after-action report was completely different. Some of the spots where they said, hey, your child was right here. They had told other people the same exact spot."

Nikoui expressed his frustration, stating, "A lot of you look a lot of the information that they gave us, if you're a mature, responsible adult and do any kind of just basic cross-referencing, you find out you've been lied to. I'm 50 years old. 51 years old... I'm not stupid."

Another service member who died in the Abbey Gate airport blast was Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover. His parents, Kelly Barnett and Darin Hoover, also testified during the forum. Kelly Barnett described the experience as "a little bit cleansing," adding, "There's still a lot of the anger and the angst left behind. It's important, just like we've discussed before, of having our kids' names out there, and as long as we can keep doing this and Congress keeps giving us the voice now, where we didn't have that the first two years, the door was basically closed."

Barnett emphasized the significance of having the opportunity to speak out, stating, "But they've come in and given us this opportunity. Brian, we're going to run with it."

The families of the fallen service members continue to demand answers and accountability from the Biden administration as they navigate the grief and pain caused by the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.