The House Rules Committee postponed a markup on a resolution to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt following his refusal to comply with a previous subpoena to testify over the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The meeting for the markup was originally scheduled for Monday on the committee’s website last week but was subsequently postponed. When or if it happens, the markup would outline the terms for having a House vote on holding Blinken in contempt.
The committee has not announced when the markup will be rescheduled. However, a source told the Washington Examiner that negotiations with Blinken are still ongoing to find a convenient time for him to testify. Lawmakers are set to go on Thanksgiving break on Nov. 22 and return to session on Dec. 3.
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In September, Blinken failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the Committee on Foreign Affairs about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and nearly 200 Afghans in 2021.
“Secretary Blinken’s testimony is a vital component of the Committee’s investigation into the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, his department’s shortcomings during that period, and Chairman McCaul’s proposed legislative remedies,” wrote Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in an Oct. 11 report that came mere weeks after a 26-25 party-line vote on Sept. 24 to recommend the full chamber hold Blinken in contempt.
Blinken argued that due to his travel schedule as secretary of state, including a global gathering at the United Nations in New York, he could not adhere to the subpoena to testify.
“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 letter to McCaul.
“On September 24 alone — the day you have asked me to appear — I will: represent the United States at the UN Security Council debate on the war in Ukraine, during which I will debate the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers,” Blinken continued listing out his schedule. “Host alongside the President a leader-level meeting of the United States-led Global Coalition on Synthetic Drugs to fight the production and trafficking of fentanyl; accompany President Biden for his address to the General Assembly and his bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Guterres.”
Matthew Miller, State Department spokesman, also argued at the time that Blinken testified 14 times before Congress, with four of the testimonies in front of McCaul’s committee, about the withdrawal.
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Democrats accused the GOP-led investigation of political theater meant to put Biden administration officials alongside negative headlines in the run-up to the November election.
“I think what went on in Afghanistan is one of the most important things that we can find out to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) in September. However, the Florida Democrat also questioned the timing of the hearing before the presidential election.
“But we’re doing it 42 days before the election? All of the sudden?” he asked.
President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly slammed Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden over the withdrawal, saying it was an example of failed Democratic leadership.
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“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump said in August at the National Guard Association conference in Detroit.
Rachel Schilke contributed to this report.