State Department accuses House GOP of calling Blinken to testify about Afghanistan when he’s away

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department lashed out Thursday at House Republicans over a subpoena for testimony about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, accusing them of repeatedly calling for hearings on days they knew Secretary of State Antony Blinken was unavailable to appear.

Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was trying to accommodate Blinken, who faces the threat of being held in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t appear.

The Texas Republican had first set a hearing for Thursday, while Blinken was in Egypt and France. He then changed the date to Tuesday, when Blinken will be at the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York and attending President Joe Biden’s speech at the time of the hearing.

“They have unilaterally selected a date when we have told them in advance that he will be not in Washington, D.C., because he will be elsewhere carrying out important meetings to advance the foreign policy interests of the United States,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

He said the State Department told the committee weeks in advance about Blinken’s schedule, so “it very much does not appear that they’re acting in good faith.”

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