Republicans proceed with bid to hold Blinken in contempt over Afghanistan pull-out

Democrats decry decision as 'shameful' act of political theatre

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24. AFP / Getty Images

Republican politicians on Tuesday moved forward with their bid to hold US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for failing to testify about his role in the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In a contentious and partisan House foreign affairs committee meeting, the panel's Republican chairman Mike McCaul, who is leading the investigation into the end of the Afghanistan war, called it a “sad day” as his party introduced the contempt measure.

Mr McCaul said that he had subpoenaed the secretary to testify “any day in September”.

A chair marked for Mr Blinken sat empty after the Republicans on the committee scheduled the hearing while he and other leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr Blinken's empty chair in Washington. The Secretary of State was in New York for the UN General Assembly. AFP

The effort to hold him in contempt is the latest in the Republican Party's campaign to censure the Biden administration over the Afghanistan withdrawal that saw the Taliban seize Kabul and the rest of the country, and a deadly attack at Kabul's airport that killed at least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American troops.

If the contempt measure passes Congress, Mr Blinken would be the first secretary of state in US history to face such a charge. A finding of contempt brings no direct legal consequences, although it could theoretically bring about a fine or even a jail sentence. Congress rules on whether the witness has "wilfully" defied a congressional subpoena, which is a misdemeanour crime.

Democrats accused the Republicans of engaging in “political theatre”.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the committee, said that the only reason September is important is because “it's the political season, it's the elections coming up, it's November 5”.

Democrat Gerry Connolly called it “a real shameful moment for this committee”.

“At this moment, war rages in the Middle East, in Gaza, in Lebanon, where the President and the Secretary of State are desperately trying to contain that conflict … Those are noble efforts that this committee, in normal times, would respect,” he said.

Mr McCaul had first set a hearing for Mr Blinken to testify last week, while the secretary was in Egypt and France, before rescheduling for Tuesday.

Democrat Susan Wild said the meeting was “convened to force Secretary Blinken into an untenable position”.

Mr Blinken wrote a letter to Mr McCaul at the weekend, saying he was “profoundly disappointed” in the decision to advance contempt proceedings.

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“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,” Mr Blinken wrote.

Republican Brian Mast, a veteran who lost his legs while serving in Afghanistan, said he did not go through the double amputation “for nothing”.

He argued against Democratic claims that oversight focus should look at the whole of America's longest war, and not only the withdrawal under the Biden administration.

“Somebody would have to be a wilful idiot to think that my operations in 2010 in Afghanistan somehow directly correlated to all the failures that took place in August, in the withdrawal of Afghanistan,” Mr Mast said.

Committee staff told The National it is not clear when the motion will go for an official vote in the House of Representatives.

Republican leadership dictates when bills come to the floor for a vote, and the wider Congress is focused on working to pass a budget and avert a government shutdown before a recess starting this week.