The State Department revealed communications with Congress on getting Americans out of the Middle East as Democrats on Capitol Hill say the department is ‘refusing to help people leave the region.’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed concerns about Americans still remaining in the Middle East with reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling U.S. citizens abroad that ‘we need to know where you are’ in order to successfully help them evacuate.
‘9,000 Americans have been able to leave the region since the start of this war,’ Rubio said. ‘We have about [1,500] Americans that are requesting assistance with departure. We have identified and continue to identify charter flights, military flight options and expanded commercial flight options, meaning working with the airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats.’
‘Here’s the message I want to deliver Americans who are in the Middle East and in need of assistance… we need to know where you are,’ Rubio added. ‘We need to have contact information for Americans that need assistance. They have to register with us because, as these options begin to open up and as they open up we have to be able to call you, we have to be able to reach you, we have to be able to know where you’re staying so we can get this information to you and coordinate appropriately.’
Rubio strongly encouraged Americans still remaining in the Middle East to utilize the department website to initiate the proceedings to safely evacuate.
The Department of State told Fox News Digital that the department has been in ‘constant contact’ with Congress, specifically related to getting stranded Americans back home.
‘The State Department is in constant contact with members of Congress in order to provide American citizens in the Middle East with assistance and accurate information on the security situation in the region, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘There is no greater priority than the safety of American citizens both at home and abroad.’
‘The State Department has reached over a thousand Congressional staffers with briefings on the security situation on the Middle East and continues to be in constant contact with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to ensure that their constituents have the facts on available support and assistance,’ Pigott added.
Democrats in Congress have accused the Trump administration of not assisting in getting trapped Americans out of the area.
‘So the State Department is forcing everyone to immediately leave the region but is also refusing to help people leave the region,’ Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT posted to X. ‘The strike itself is illegal and disastrous but their lack of readiness for what comes next is unforgivable as well.’
‘Incompetence everywhere,’ Murphy added.
Sources at the State Department told Fox News Digital that they contacted the Consular on the Hill with approximately 130 emails and calls from 88 congressional offices through Monday evening, seeking information to provide constituents or request information about citizens in the region.
The department also told Fox that they communicated with more than 1,300 congressional staffers, held three webinars covering the security situation, and have been in constant communication with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee on Embassy operating status, regional requests for additional interceptors, and other military equipment.
The department says they made 60 emails and a dozen calls on policy-related questions, briefing requests, and general inquiries from Congressional offices.
Rubio told reporters on Tuesday he is confident that the administration will be able to safely evacuate all U.S. citizens out of the region.
‘Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics,’ Rubio said. ‘They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons. They intend to develop those nuclear weapons behind a program of missiles and drones and terrorism [so] the world will not be able to touch them for fear of those things… now is the time to go after them.’
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Kristy Ellmer, from New Hampshire, described the ‘shock waves’ and ‘red bursts in air’ she witnessed while with her husband in Dubai.
‘We were just sitting on the beach. We hadn’t been watching the news or anything, just enjoying the morning,’ Ellmer said. ‘All of a sudden, we felt explosions.’
She was scheduled to leave Dubai on Sunday, though she dealt with flight cancellations for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
On Saturday, Iranian airstrikes hit Dubai International Airport as the country exchanged blows with the U.S. and its Israeli allies.
She still remains in the region, hoping to get out of the country by the end of the week.
Fox News Digital’s Jessica Mekles contributed to this report.