WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday advanced contempt of Congress charges against Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary over an appearance to testify on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The 26-25 party-line vote was just the latest friction point between the GOP and the State Department this Congress. Republicans have worked for the last 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a 鈥渟tunning failure of leadership鈥 after Taliban forces in August 2021.
鈥淩ather than take accountability for this, the secretary hides from the American people. He would prefer to hide rather than be before this committee today,鈥 said Rep. of Texas, the chairman of the committee. 鈥淭he Secretary鈥檚 willful indifference has brought us to this moment.鈥
The resolution now moves to the full House, which could vote to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress and refer the matter to the Justice Department. But Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters late Tuesday that the measure likely won't be taken up until after the presidential election.
Blinken, in a letter to McCaul, said that he was 鈥減rofoundly disappointed鈥 in the chairman's decision to advance contempt proceedings and urged him to find a resolution in 鈥済ood faith.鈥
"As I have made clear, I am willing to testify and have offered several reasonable alternatives to the dates unilaterally demanded by the Committee during which I am carrying out the President鈥檚 important foreign policy objectives,鈥 Blinken wrote in a Sunday letter.
McCaul defended his decision Tuesday, saying that he had 鈥減atiently asked for and waited鈥 on Blinken's availability and that the department has been 鈥渄isingenuous鈥 because it had declined repeated requests to pick a date in September for Blinken to testify.
McCaul had first set a hearing for Blinken to testify last Thursday, while the secretary . He then changed the date to Tuesday, when Blinken was at the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York and attending President 鈥檚 speech at the time of the hearing.
As all secretaries of state have in the past, Blinken will spend the entire week in New York holding dozens of meetings with his counterparts on a variety of issues but this year with a focus on the Mideast situation and the conflict.
Following the vote, Matthew Miller, State Department spokesperson, called the vote 鈥渁 naked political exercise masquerading as oversight,鈥 and accused Republicans of repeatedly calling for hearings on days they knew Blinken could not attend.
He added, 鈥淐hairman McCaul apparently believes it is in the nation鈥檚 interest to cede the diplomatic field to America鈥檚 adversaries, but we strongly disagree.鈥
Democrats on the committee blasted Republicans' contempt efforts as purely partisan, noting it鈥檚 taking place less than two months before a presidential election.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not difficult for the American people to see this for what it is: political theater,鈥 New York Rep. , the top Democrat on the committee, said in an opening statement. 鈥淎nother attempt to put another senior Biden administration official name into negative headlines.鈥
Former President has repeatedly brought up the in the campaign, trying to link it to his Democratic rival, Vice President . Several watchdog reviews and a more than 18-month investigation by House Republicans have failed to pinpoint an instance where Harris had a particular impact on decision-making on the withdrawal.
Blinken has testified about Afghanistan 14 times, including four times before McCaul鈥檚 committee, according to the State Department. But during the meeting Tuesday, McCaul said that the secretary has only attended the yearly budget hearings since he became chair and has never appeared to discuss their investigation into the withdrawal.
Miller said Blinken was willing to testify again if a mutually convenient time could be arranged but noted that Congress will be in recess from the end of this week until after the November election.
Earlier this month, House Republicans issued a scathing report on their investigation into the , blaming the disastrous end of on the while minimizing Trump鈥檚 role.
The partisan review laid out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump鈥檚 February 2020 withdrawal deal, which allowed the Taliban to conquer the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens, , female activists and others at risk from the Taliban.
