House Republicans move to hold Blinken in contempt over Afghanistan testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are moving Tuesday to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary over an appearance to testify on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Blinken, in a letter to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said that he was “profoundly disappointed” in the chairman’s decision to advance contempt proceedings and urged him to find a resolution in “good faith.”

“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’s important foreign policy objectives,” Blinken wrote in a Sunday letter.

The contempt of Congress charge is the latest in a series of moves by McCaul and other House Republicans over the past 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a “stunning failure of leadership” after Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital far more rapidly than U.S. intelligence had foreseen as American forces pulled out in 2021.

“Let the record reflect that for four months, I patiently asked for and waited on his availability in September,” McCaul said in his opening statement. “But instead of working with me, Secretary Blinken made false promises and accused me of politicizing this important issue.”

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