House Foreign Affairs Committee subpoenas Blinken over Afghanistan withdrawal

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to appear later this month to discuss its report on the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to appear later this month to discuss its report on the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. “The Committee is holding this hearing because the Department of State was central to the Afghanistan withdrawal and served as the senior authority during the August non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO),” Republican Chairman Michael McCaul wrote of the hearing set for September 19. In his letter, McCaul said Blinken had refused previous requests to appear before the committee. The State Department said in a statement Wednesday that Blinken is unavailable to testify “on the dates proposed by the committee” and that they have proposed alternatives. “It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the department in good faith, the committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena,” Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, said in a statement. McCaul has repeatedly called for accountability from the Biden administration on how the withdrawal from Afghanistan played out. He has slammed the administration for the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members in the final chaotic days of the withdrawal.