More than 50 Republican members of Congress on Wednesday demanded that Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz come clean about his military service. Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida wrote the letter and dozens of other Republicans, all veterans, co-signed it. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign also circulated the letter, which echoes the criticism that has dogged Walz throughout his political career. Walz made no apologies in a statement on Thursday and said he was proud of his military career.

What are the points of criticism? Republicans accused Walz of lying about his rank when he resigned from the U.S. Army National Guard. In the letter, he also claimed that he told the public that he carried weapons in war, even though he never served in a combat zone.

Republicans also accused Walz of abandoning his National Guard unit, saying he abandoned it two months before it was due to be deployed to Iraq. The unit had not yet received official notification that it would be deployed to the Middle East following Walz’s retirement, but soldiers within the unit had known unofficially for months that they would soon be deployed, WORLD previously reported.

Because he abandoned troops in combat and misrepresented his service record, veterans cannot trust him to lead the U.S. military as commander in chief, Republicans said. Until Walz admits that he lied about aspects of his service, he cannot be trusted to serve as vice president, the group’s letter said.

Has Walz responded to these allegations? Walz said early Thursday that he wore his military uniform with pride for 24 years, echoing a statement he made earlier this month expressing pride in his service. In that statement, he said veterans should never belittle another person’s service history and thanked all veterans for their service and sacrifice.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift on how vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz will face off on the debate stage in October.