Blinken to appear at Afghanistan withdrawal hearing, top Republican says

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the outgoing chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to testify before the committee about the Biden administration's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

"After months of good faith efforts that were too often met with stonewalling from the State Department, I’m proud to have secured Secretary Blinken’s appearance before my committee," McCaul said in a statement, posted by the committee on social platform X.

"I trust his testimony will provide some long-overdue accountability and transparency for the American people, our Afghan allies, and our Gold Star families," he added.

Blinken's upcoming appearance comes amid criticism from Republicans against President Biden and the Pentagon over the removal of troops from Afghanistan in 2021, as the 17-day evacuation from the country marked one of the lower points of the administration.

Just days into the withdrawal, the Taliban overtook Kabul, much more quickly than the administration had anticipated. Crowds gathered around Hamid Karzai International Airport, and dramatic images were seen of people falling as they sought to hang on to planes exiting the region.

An estimated 100,000 partners of U.S. government efforts were left behind, a number that swells when taking into account others vulnerable under Taliban rule.

A blast near the airport, which the Taliban later claimed responsibility for, also led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members. They were posthumously awarded Congressional Gold Medals.

The announcement also comes following a long-awaited report was released from GOP members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which paints Biden as determined to leave the country but fumbling preparations that set the stage for a chaotic and deadly exit from America’s longest war.

The report criticizes Biden for a rushed effort regardless of counsel from allies and advisers that led to unnecessary deaths and accuses the Biden administration of failing to see warning signs of how quickly Kabul would fall to the Taliban and delaying the planning for and calling of an evacuation — fearing both the optics of such an exit and further destabilization in the country.

The Hill has contacted the State Department for comment.