WASHINGTON — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to provide further testimony on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he doesn't.
In a letter addressed to Blinken, McCaul noted that in May he had requested that the secretary appear at a September hearing. McCaul at the time had just announced the GOP-led committee would investigate "the Biden-Harris administration's deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan."
"The Committee has provided extraordinary accommodation in its multiple requests and communications seeking to finalize a date in line with your schedule," McCaul wrote to Blinken. "To date, the Department has yet to provide any potential dates for your appearance."
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday that Blinken has testified before Congress on Afghanistan more than any other Cabinet member and has provided the Foreign Affairs Committee with tens of thousands of pages' worth of records.
"The Secretary has testified before the Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times — more than any other Cabinet-level official," Miller said. "This includes four times directly before Chairman McCaul’s Committee, including at a previous hearing that focused exclusively on Afghanistan, all while the Department has provided the Committee with nearly 20,000 pages of Department records, multiple high-level briefings, and engaged on transcribed interviews of nearly 15 current and former State Department officials with the Committee."
In his statement, Miller added that Blinken is not available during any of the dates proposed by McCaul but has offered “reasonable” alternatives to comply with the committee’s request for a public hearing.
"It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena," Miller said.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, renewed their attacks on the Biden administration last month during the anniversary of U.S. withdrawal and the terrorist attack on Abbey Gate that killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghan civilians at the Kabul airport in August 2021.
Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops, and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, recently said Harris can “go to hell” over the withdrawal.
A 2023 Biden administration review of the withdrawal concluded that both the Trump and Biden administrations’ efforts were inadequate. The now-retired U.S. commander who oversaw the withdrawal said this year that he alone bears the responsibility for the Kabul airport attack.
Trump last week went to Arlington National Cemetery with relatives of victims who died in the Abbey Gate attack. The visit included an "incident" around Section 60, where service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.
According to the Army, a member of Trump's staff "abruptly pushed aside" a cemetery employee so that Trump and his campaign could take photos and videos, which are usually prohibited in that section. Trump's team has disputed the Army's account.
