House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken over his refusal to testify regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Following the three-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul and the chaotic evacuation in late August 2021, Republicans have renewed attention to the withdrawal. In a letter from McCaul, he said Blinken was asked to appear in a letter on Aug. 12. The letter said Blinken instead repeatedly requested phone calls to delay.

“Despite repeated requests, and a warning of impending compulsory process, rather than provide
proposed dates, the Department once again requested another telephone call be scheduled on
August 30. Due to the State Department’s failure to confirm a date for your appearance, I am now
forced to delay the date of the hearing to September 19,” McCaul said.

“In view the Department’s continued delay and unresponsiveness to the Committee’s repeated
requests for a specific hearing date, pursuant to the provisions of House Rule XI, clause 2(m), the
Committee hereby transmits a subpoena compelling you to testify at a hearing before the
Committee on September 19, 2024, at 10:00 am.,” he concluded.

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Blinken has been the target of several subpoenas, including recent ones from McCaul. In August, the Texas Republican subpoenaed him over the State Department providing a grant to a group that promotes atheism abroad.

Tuesday’s letter cited Blinken’s role as central to the “catastrophic” withdrawal from Afghanistan. The evacuation ended in 13 U.S. soldiers being killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing at the Kabul airport.