Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are moving to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary about an appearance to testify on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Blinken, in a letter to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, says that he was “profoundly disappointed” in the chairman’s decision to advance contempt proceedings and urged him to find a resolution in “good faith.” 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” in August 2021.
