‘Our commitment does not waiver’: White House on Americans who may be left behind

Credit ABC News/Luis Martinez, Conor Finnegan, Libby Cathey, Matt Seyler, and Ben Gittleson

While White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. military is continuing to evacuate Americans for as long as it can ahead of Biden’s deadline, she was asked if the White House has a message to Americans who may get left behind that still want to get out.

“Our message is our commitment is enduring, and our commitment does not waiver as we bring our men and women from the military home,” Psaki said.

She went on to outline a few ongoing steps the Biden administration is taking to ensure evacuations beyond Aug. 31, leaning heavily on Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting with international partners and their putting pressure on the Taliban to keep the airport in Kabul open for safe passage.

“On Friday, one of the Taliban leaders delivered public remarks conveying that individuals who wish to leave after the 31st would be able to do so. That does not mean we trust what they say, but there is an enormous amount of international leverage,” Psaki said. “And there is also of course a discussion about what our diplomatic presence may look like moving forward.”

As of Sunday night, there were up to 250 U.S. citizens still in Afghanistan trying to evacuate, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News. There are thousands of desperate Afghans also clinging to hopes of leaving the country under Taliban rule.

“We need to figure out how to work with partners to reopen the civilian airport and ensure that is a mechanism, that is an area where there is mutual interest by the United States, by international organizations like the World Food Program who want assistance in, and by the Taliban to get these airports operational and running,” she said.