Rep. Cory Mills slammed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday for what he said was a sluggish response last year to Hamas’s attack on Israel and Americans trapped in Palestinian-controlled territory, with the lawmaker saying he had to personally make rescues.

Mr. Mills said he rescued 32 Americans on Oct. 11, four days after Hamas’s murderous attack, and went on to evacuate hundreds of others, while the State Department was missing in action.

“I got 255 Americans out by myself before the State Department lifted a finger and did anything to bring a plane in,” the Florida Republican told the secretary.

Mr. Blinken angrily denied that version of events, saying it wasn’t true.

That set off Mr. Mills.

“I was there. Were you?” he demanded.

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“I had an entire embassy,” Mr. Blinken countered.

“How many Americans did you personally rescue sir?” Mr. Mills persisted.

Mr. Mills is one of several Republicans who said they were also involved in trying to get people out of Afghanistan during and after the disastrous 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal. They said the State Department hindered those efforts, waived off U.S. passport holders and blocked some planes from making evacuation flights.

Mr. Blinken said his team has rescued 500 Americans who were trapped after the Taliban takeover and said every U.S. citizen who was in the country at that time and who has expressed an interest in leaving has now been helped out of Afghanistan.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, Michigan Republican, said that can’t be true because his office was in contact with people still stranded.

“We have citizens there who are not there voluntarily who want to get out and the State Department has utterly failed them,” he said.

The exchanges were part of a fiery hearing with Mr. Blinken, who is due to leave office next month in the change of administrations, and who defended his legacy against fierce GOP denunciations.

He said he leaves the U.S. with better alliances and more willing partners to tackle China and Russia.

“We are in a much stronger position than we were to deal with a multiplicity of challenges,” the secretary said.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.