The House Foreign Affairs Committee announced on Thursday its intention to convene a review session to consider holding Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress due to his noncompliance with a subpoena requiring him to testify regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, has scheduled this review session for September 19, during which the committee will deliberate on the possibility of holding Blinken in contempt. This action follows his failure to respond to a subpoena issued the previous week, which sought his testimony concerning the Afghanistan withdrawal, as stated in a press release.
Although Blinken has provided testimony before both the House and Senate on multiple occasions, the committee is adamant about obtaining additional testimony from him to inform potential legislative reforms designed to prevent similar situations in the future, according to the Washington Examiner. In response, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed disappointment regarding the new subpoena and highlighted Blinken’s significant prior cooperation with congressional investigations on this issue.
The chairman's report on the Biden-Harris administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan makes it clear: there was no emergency evacuation plan to get U.S. diplomats, Americans, and Afghan allies out of Afghanistan when the Taliban closed in. This administration chose to… pic.twitter.com/sr5HdYln2T
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) September 12, 2024
“The Secretary has testified before the Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times — more than any other Cabinet-level official,” Miller said, the Washington Examiner reported. “It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena.”
Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks of New York issued a statement denouncing McCaul’s proposal for a review session. He stated, “The upcoming Committee vote to hold Secretary Blinken in contempt, predicated on unfounded allegations of misconduct that their own inquiry has failed to substantiate, represents yet another episode in the political drama that Republicans are eager to prolong as we approach the election season.”
McCaul’s action comes in the wake of the House committee’s investigation into the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which concluded with a report released on Sunday. This comprehensive 354-page document criticized the Biden administration’s management of the withdrawal, which resulted in a resurgence of Taliban authority and was marred by a tragic suicide bombing at Kabul International Airport. The schedule for a possible House vote regarding the contempt resolution is still unclear, as Congress is presently focused on essential budget negotiations aimed at preventing a government shutdown by October 1, as reported by the Washington Examiner. After these negotiations, Congress is anticipated to take a recess until after the elections in November.
