This article is from the archive of our partner .
The mixed reaction to the return of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is clearest in Congress, where Rep. Buck McKeon has celebrated his release while calling for hearings on the deal that made it possible. The general consensus among conservatives is that, while it's great that Bergdahl's family has him back, there are a lot of questions that need answering.
Bergdahl was taken as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan in June 2009, after walking away from his guard post. On Saturday the Obama administration announced that nearly five years later they had secured his release, in exchange for the release of five Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Lawmakers are calling for hearings on what will happen to the five Gitmo prisoners he was traded for, and whether trading prisoners is ever justifiable, while writers at Breitbart News are casting doubts on Bergdahl's story. There's also a sense that the timing — just days after Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki's resignation on Friday — is a little too convenient.
Congress says it "will be holding hearings"
The law requires that the president give Congress 30 days notice before transferring prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the need to move quickly prevented the government from giving that notice, according to the Los Angeles Times. Rep. Buck McKeon, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Monday that "we will be holding hearing, we will be looking into this" because “more than 72 hours after this deal has been done, we have still have not been told what they’re going to do to ensure that these top five Taliban leaders do not re-enter the fight." McKeon said all of his information is coming from "the media." McKeon, along with Sen. James Inhofe of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement Saturday celebrating Bergdahl's return but warning the prisoner trade "may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans."