Biden silent, Press Sec Psaki 'out of the office' as Taliban conquer Kabul

As Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban on Sunday, media outlets tried to reach White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki only to discover she was taking unannounced time off while President Joe Biden vacationed at Camp David.

According to Fox News, the outlet sent questions to Psaki's White House email address Sunday morning and received an auto-reply. Later Sunday evening, Fox News again to reach the Biden administration spokeswoman and received an updated auto-reply, stating that Psaki would not be available for the week. "I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd," read the email.

The news came as Biden was criticized by both sides of the political aisle for remaining on vacation as the Taliban continued their conquest of Afghanistan Sunday the terrorist regime entered the capital city of Kabul and seized the presidential palace. The United States deployed thousands of troops on Sunday to help rescue US citizens from the US embassy and those that are trapped in Kabul after the Taliban overtook the Afghan government. Afghan President Ghani fled the country after the Taliban entered the Capitol in Kabul.

There has been no formal response from the White House to the fall of Kabul and the ensuing violence, aside from posting a picture of Biden being briefed on the situation via video. However, according to CNN, the President will address the US within "the next few days."

"This morning, the President and Vice President met with their national security team and senior officials to hear updates on the draw down of our civilian personnel in Afghanistan, evacuations of SIV applicants and other Afghan allies, and the ongoing security situation in Kabul," the White House posted on Twitter.

The US State Department announced Sunday night that the evacuation of personnel from the US embassy in Kabul is complete, however, many foreign nationals including Americans and Afghani allies are unable to reach safety.