Republican-led House committee subpoenas Antony Blinken over Afghanistan withdrawal
NBCAug 24
House Committee Votes to Hold Blinken in Contempt
Above: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Image copyright: Rodrigo Oropeza/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
By a party-line vote, the Republican-majority US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday advanced a recommendation to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for not testifying as part of the investigation of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The 26-25 vote makes the resolution eligible for a vote by the full House, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said it likely won't be considered until after the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Blinken has left the committee no choice but to recommend he be held in contempt after turning down a multitude of opportunities to appear before Congress. Instead, he has ducked the opportunity to explain to the American people how the current Democratic administration and State Department failed to cleanly exit Afghanistan. The administration has opted to not fire anyone over this debacle, so it's up to Republicans in Congress to hold people accountable.
Democratic narrative
Weeks before the presidential election, Republicans are pulling more political maneuvers to exploit the tragic pullout from Afghanistan in an attempt to make Democrats look incompetent. There's no reason for this committee to recommend any action against Blinken since he's willing to testify and has already done so 14 times, including four times before the committee. Republicans should negotiate with Blinken in good faith.