The federal government ought to present extra help to Individuals caught within the Center East

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), accompanied by Senator Angus King (I-ME) (L), speaks as General Gregory Guillot, commander of the United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (USNORTHCOM), Mark Ditlevson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Security and American Security Affairs, and Charles Young III, deputy general counsel of the War Department, appear at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, December 11. 2025 in Washington, DC

Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Thursday why U.S. Transportation Command and the State Department are not doing more to get stranded American citizens out of the Middle East amid the war with Iran.

Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens could still be stranded in the region and the Trump administration was too slow to act as violence spread from Iran to surrounding countries, the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

“Let me be clear: The Trump administration chose this war. They planned this war for months and made no plans to protect hundreds of thousands of Americans in the region. There is no excuse for that,” Warren said.

Americans reported feeling stranded in the region in the days immediately following the outbreak of war. A State Department warning to U.S. citizens to “LEAVE NOW” to Americans in 14 countries sparked a row that some said left them on their own. Facing criticism, the State Department said last week that it would expand flights for Americans from the region.

Read more about CNBC’s politics coverage

While President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that the war would end “very soon,” there is no immediate end in sight and Americans in the region are trying to contend with an ever-evolving regional conflict.

The State Department has provided regular updates on the number of Americans relocated from the region since Trump announced war with Iran on Feb. 28, and on Thursday a spokesman said nearly 47,000 citizens had returned to the United States

The State Department has operated more than two dozen charter flights, and at this point the number of seats offered on those flights exceeds demand, the spokesman said.

“While commercial flight availability continues to improve across the region, U.S. State Department charter flights and ground transportation continue to operate,” the spokesperson, without giving his name, responded to an email sent to the agency’s media inquiries account.

Gen. Randall Reed, commander of TRANSCOM, testified at Thursday’s hearing that his command helped airlift hundreds of Americans from the region.

But Warren said the effort failed.

“I’m trying to understand why you don’t do more,” Warren asked Reed. “Because I’m hearing from my constituents who are stuck there, who have been stuck there for two weeks, asking for help, and they’re not getting any help from the U.S. government.”

Bring Americans home

While many Americans have left the region and some are choosing to remain in the region, others are still stuck. The State Department spokesman said the department is “now working around the clock to bring Americans home.”

Some lawmakers are taking matters into their own hands.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-R-S.C., reported on X about a trip she took this week to the Middle East to help a family from her district who was stuck there.

“The family I traveled here to care for is home safely. But then I found out about more families. Hundreds of families. Thousands. Still stranded,” Mace wrote.

Congressional clerks, the staff who answer voters’ inquiries, have also reported that Americans feel left behind and frustrated by the federal government’s response to the war.

A Senate Democratic clerk – who spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the press – said she had heard from voters in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Israel and Kuwait. Some are tourists, others are students or Americans who are in the region for work, sometimes with their families.

“The people there in the Middle East just want to leave, but they have no way of leaving at all. They are afraid, they are scared and they feel abandoned,” said the case worker. “Their families here are frightened and frightened, wondering why the U.S. government hasn’t brought their loved one home already.”

Inconsistent messaging from the administration hasn’t helped, the Senate clerk and a Democratic clerk in the House of Representatives, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, both said.

In the early days of the war, the recommendation for Americans in the region was to shelter in place, the House aide said. But the news “DEPART NOW” on March 2nd caused panic. Many countries in the region had their airspace closed, making commercial flights an unlikely route home. The government provided a telephone number for a hotline, but it took a long time. As they got through, they were told at times they were on their own, the clerk said.

“What we heard from voters was absolute panic,” the House aide said.

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.