The State Department is being pressed by Republicans for details on the reasons behind the delayed flights from Afghanistan.

A Republican congressman is challenging Secretary of State Antony Blinken's claim that the State Department did not obstruct citizens from exiting Mazar-i-Sharif Airbase in Afghanistan during the chaotic evacuation.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to the State Department demanding information about the number of planes that were blocked from leaving an airbase, the person responsible for clearing flights for takeoff, the criteria used to block or delay flights, and whether there had been any communication with the Taliban.

After the withdrawal, it was reported that 1,000 individuals, including Americans, were stranded at Mazar-i-Sharif Airport, waiting for clearance to board their charter flights out.

To quickly exit the airport in northern Afghanistan, many had undertaken the 400-mile journey from Kabul.

The Taliban were not informed by the State Department about the approval for flight departures in Mazar-i-Sharif or the validation of a landing site.

In the letter, Davidson stated that while conversing with the State Department, an official inquired about the specific tail number he was referring to, implying that multiple flights had not been authorized to take off and were delayed.

Col. Francis Hoang, a member of Allied Airlift 21, shared with the Foreign Affairs Committee that his group spent three weeks safeguarding nearly 400 individuals from the Taliban, ensuring their survival through the use of funds from American donors.

In a hearing last week, Blinken was questioned by Davidson about whether the State Department had prevented American citizens from leaving the airfield in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

"Absolutely not," said Blinken.

"You know they were blocked!" said Davidson.

"I'd be glad to examine any data you possess regarding that. I am not privy to any American citizens who were obstructed."

Was it the State Department that issued the clearance for American, blue passport-holding citizens to depart from the airfield and travel to safe third countries? Davidson inquired.

Three months after the committee voted to recommend Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Blinken finally appeared before the committee to give his testimony.

In September, the Republicans published a detailed report revealing that State Department officials lacked a plan for evacuating Americans and allies while there were still troops present to safeguard them.

Despite warnings from military officials that a Taliban takeover was imminent, Ross Wilson, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan at the time, expanded the embassy's size rather than sending personnel home.

Blinken was warned of collapse by his own personnel, but ignored the warnings, according to Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul.

Blinken defended the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal, stating that every American who desired to depart had been granted the chance to do so and over three thousand Afghans have been relocated abroad.

Donald Trump, the newly elected president, has pledged to request the resignation of all senior officials involved in the Afghanistan crisis.

The Taliban deal negotiated by Trump is the reason for the 20-year war's bitter conclusion, according to Democrats.