The Biden administration first allowed Lakanwal to enter the U.S. in September 2021 as a refugee through Operation Allies Welcome.

FBI director Kash Patel sidestepped a crucial question on how DC shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an immigrant from Afghanistan who came to the .

Republicans were sounding the alarm about the vetting of Afghans who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration's "Operation Allies Welcome" program back in October 2021—the same initiative that gave entry to Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect in the D.C. shooting of two National Guard troops, a month earlier.