House Foreign Affairs Committee votes to hold Blinken in contempt, sends resolution to full chamber

The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to advance a contempt of Congress resolution against Secretary of State Antony Blinken who failed to comply with a subpoena to testify. 

The contempt resolution is the latest effort by the committee to compel Secretary Blinken's testimony on the Biden administration's chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal that saw the Taliban seize control of the country and 13 U.S. service members die in a terrorist attack. 

The measure, approved by the committee in a 26-25 party-line vote, will now advance to the full chamber.

If the House approves the measure, the Justice Department would still have to prosecute the violation, which it has refused to do in the case of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was held in contempt by the Republican-led Congress earlier this year. 

Blinken was subpoenaed on September 3 and 18 to compel testimony before the committee. However, the secretary failed to appear at the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, citing scheduling conflicts with the United Nations General Assembly in New York.