Blinken will be held in contempt by McCaul after the State Department dismisses his testimony demands.

Rep. Mike McCaul, the Foreign Affairs Chairman, stated that he still plans to summon Antony Blinken for questioning on the Afghanistan withdrawal, despite the completion of his extensive report, and will consider him in contempt of Congress if he fails to cooperate.

"The Texas Republican called the failure "catastrophic" and "epic" and said he would hold the person responsible in contempt to bring them before the public."

"Secretary Blinken declines to take a day off this month to meet with the [Gold Star] families."

McCaul's comments followed the release of a 350-page report on the withdrawal that the committee had been working on for nearly two years under the Republican majority.

The State Department was heavily criticized for its lack of a plan to evacuate Americans and allies from the region, despite the presence of troops to safeguard their safety.

Last week, Blinken was subpoenaed by McCaul and must appear before the committee on Sept. 19.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel shrugged off the committee’s threats.

If the majority were truly interested in legislating on Afghanistan policy, they would have sought to speak to the secretary long ago, he told reporters Monday.

"They would have sought to speak to him to get his input as they make this report," he said. "Instead, they waited until the report was finished before coming back to us."

McCaul requested Blinken to appear at a hearing in September regarding the committee's report on the Afghanistan withdrawal investigation. However, the State Department repeatedly failed to provide a date for Blinken to testify before lawmakers, according to McCaul.

The Foreign Affairs Committee heard Blinken testify about the withdrawal 14 times, including four times.

McCaul suggested that a small number of U.S. troops should remain in Afghanistan.

Through the horizon, we cannot see into Afghanistan, and we also cannot see Russia, China, and Iran due to this foreign policy failure, as he told reporters.

The chairman stated that we cannot observe the entire ISIS assembly in the Korazhan region of Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan as they traveled towards the United States of America. This is what they did to us.

The leaders of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea form an unholy alliance, emboldened by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollah, and Kim Jong Un, according to him.

The Doha agreement, negotiated under President Trump, had set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, a new report revealed that the Taliban had not fulfilled their obligations, freeing the U.S. from any obligation to adhere to the agreement.

When Biden assumed office, he had to decide whether to adhere to the imperfect accord and conclude America's longest war or to annul the agreement, prolong the conflict, and witness a smaller number of American troops engaged in combat with the Taliban, as stated by White House national security spokesman John Kirby during a press conference on Monday.

"He opted for the previous choice, which allowed him to delay the withdrawal until the summer. As a result, our nation is safer. Every conversation about the events in Afghanistan must begin with that decision. Unfortunately, the report does not focus on it."

While US military personnel were reducing their presence in the country, the State Department was increasing its own.

According to the report, U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson was on vacation during the last week of July and the first week of August 2021. He left the country on a flight ahead of his staff in mid-August. It is alleged that he had COVID-19 at the time and forced a foreign service officer to take his COVID test so he could board the plane.

Patel defended Wilson, but did not deny the allegations.

"I won't engage in a tit-for-tat with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but I can clarify that I don't believe Ambassador Wilson was on vacation at the start of August. As I mentioned earlier, Ambassador Wilson is a highly respected individual and a distinguished Foreign Service officer."

The GOP-led report was accused of focusing on scandal rather than substance and was characterized as a "cherry-picked collection of comments" intended to misrepresent the administration's efforts.

The drawdown in Kabul was conducted in accordance with our department's and country's standards and protocols when faced with those circumstances.

He acknowledged not knowing the exact number of Americans remaining in Afghanistan but highlighted the more than 18,000 Afghan special immigrant visas (SIVs) processed for U.S. allies, including interpreters, in 2023.