Immediately after the suspect in the horrific Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was identified as an Afghan national came the obvious questions about his motive, his admission to the U.S., and what — if any — vetting was done of him.
On Sunday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined Kristen Welker on NBC's Meet the Press to discuss both the shooting and the suspect, as well as the asylum program itself.
Welker opened the segment by asking for an update on the status of the investigation into the suspect and what is known thus far about his motive.
.@Sec_Noem on the National Guard attacker: "We know that this individual came into the country under Operation Allies Welcome during the Biden Administration and that disastrous withdrawal... We're going to use every tool at our disposal to bring him to justice." pic.twitter.com/l3UcH7EBbN
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
KRISTEN WELKER: Thank you so much for being here at the conclusion of just a devastating week. I do want to start with the investigation into the attack on those two Guards members. What is the latest you can tell us about the attack, The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, and what you have learned about the motive, Madam Secretary?
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: Well, we know that this individual came into the country under Operation Allies Welcome, and during the Biden administration, and that disastrous withdrawal that we all watched unfold in 2021. He's been in this country and was in the Washington State area. We do know that we're talking to his contacts and going through information, continuing to gather that as we go forward. But we're going to use every tool at our disposable (SIC) to bring him to justice, and make him pay for what he has done not just to America, but how he's devastated these families and taken the life of one of our soldiers, and devastatingly injured another one that we're still praying for each and every day. My heart goes out to Andrew and Sarah's families. I can't imagine what they're going through. And President Trump is absolutely dedicated to making sure that he's bringing this individual to justice, and anyone that he would've talked to. Anyone that he knows that would have known about this plan and this attack, he will absolutely bring in, and there will be consequences, and they will pay.
Welker followed up with another question about motive and whether the suspect is believed to have acted alone. Noem, in response, shared the notable revelation that authorities believe the suspect was radicalized since he entered the U.S.
.@Sec_Noem on the National Guards attacker: "We believe he was radicalized since he has been here in this country. We do believe that it was through connections in his home community and state... Unvetted by Joe Biden, allowed to run free." pic.twitter.com/6X2YtMMmTl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
KRISTEN WELKER: Our condolences to the family of the Guards member who did pass. I do want to go back to this question, Madam Secretary: Do you know what the motive was at this point? Do you believe the suspect acted alone?
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: You know, we're still going through all of that information, and all of the FBI and DOJ reveal new information. But I will say we believe he was radicalized since he's been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we're going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members — talk to them. So far, we've had some participation. But anyone who has information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice. We absolutely will persecute you, because we do know that we will never allow this to continue to happen in our country, allow individuals who came to our country that were unvetted by Joe Biden, allowed to run free and loose. We are going to bring them to justice and make sure that they're returned out of this country if they aren't here for the purposes of being an American.
READ MORE: The National Guard Shooter's Radicalization: Was It Radical Islam or Radical Democrats?
Then came a lengthy exchange in which Welker zeroed in on the indication that the suspect was granted asylum in April of this year, but as Noem explained, the critical aspect of the vetting process takes place (or should take place) when individuals enter the country (in this case, in September 2021, during the Biden administration).
"[Biden] was allowing our country to be infiltrated with people that we didn't know who they were," says @Sec_Noem.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
"We could have up to 100K people that came in from Afghanistan that may be here to do us harm — and President Trump is absolutely dedicated to getting them OUT." pic.twitter.com/RjWSNMSxeo
KRISTEN WELKER: And we are going to talk about some of the steps the President's taking. But I just want to be very clear about this, because his asylum was approved in April of this year, on the Trump administration's watch. So just to be very clear, was there a vetting process in place to approve that asylum request?
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: Yeah, the vetting process all happened under Joe Biden's administration.
KRISTEN WELKER: But was he vetted when he was granted asylum--
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: That is what is so broken--
KRISTEN WELKER: Are you saying he wasn't vetted when he was granted asylum--
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: --is that they didn't. Vetting is happening when they come into the country, and that was completely abandoned under Joe Biden's administration. That's the irresponsibility that has completely devastated our country, Kristen. Put us in such a dangerous position. I don't think people realize when Joe Biden was in the White House exactly how he was allowing our country to be infiltrated with people that we didn't know who they were. Some of them we did know were dangerous, and we went after as soon as they came into this country. But under this program, we could have up to 100,000 people that came in from Afghanistan that may be here to do us harm. And President Trump is absolutely dedicated to getting them out of our country.
Welker then shifted to the broader issue of asylum and inquired as to how the administration intends to handle pending asylum claims.
"Will you deport people with pending asylum claims?"@Sec_Noem: "We will if they should be, absolutely. Yes. We are going to go through every single person that has a pending asylum claim." pic.twitter.com/3puyEdIopl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 30, 2025
KRISTEN WELKER: Will you deport people with pending asylum claims, Madam Secretary?
SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: We will if they should be, absolutely. Yes. We are going to go through every single person that has a pending asylum claim, has an asylum claim here in this country. You know, one of the requirements of asylum is that you have to come in every single year for a check-up, and an interview process, and a re-vetting. And that is something that we're going to expedite, and happen immediately with anyone who does have that asylum claim today, and ensure that they deserve to still be in this country, that they still have the purposes for which they claimed that asylum in place. And that they're not here being radicalized, and perpetuating dangerous criminal activity against our Americans.
Video of the full interview may be viewed here.
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