House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul said Sunday he will continue to pursue contempt charges against Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his failure to turn over a document connected with the withdrawal of U.S. personnel and troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
"This would be the first time a secretary of state has ever been held in contempt by Congress and it's criminal contempt, so I don't take it lightly," the Texas Republican told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
The committee in March issued a subpoena for the document, an internal, confidential State Department "dissent cable" that had been written by 23 department employees in Kabul, Afghanistan, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In it, they warned that Kabul would fall after the Biden administration's planned deadline of Aug. 31, 2021, and suggested ways to speed up the evacuation as the Taliban was making quick gains.
McCaul said the State Department has offered a "filtered summary" of the document, and he believes that is a "delay tactic," so he's prepared to move forward with contempt proceedings.
The congressman also on Sunday discussed the expiration of the Title 42 pandemic policy at the border and said he questions Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas' claims earlier on the program that encounters have dropped by 50% in comparison to before Title 42 expired.
"Why did it take him so long?" McCaul said. "I mean, I told him from day one, you can call it whatever you want, but the migrant protection protocols were working."
He added that there may be a way to reach a bipartisan agreement on border security while understanding that a recent GOP proposal calling for the restoration of former President Donald Trump's border wall and "Remain in Mexico" policies won't pass in the Senate.
"I'm still hopeful that there are rational Democrats out there who will work with us on some of these provisions," the congressman said.
McCaul also commented on the impasse between President Joe Biden and the House Republicans' bill to raise the nation's debt limit and cut spending, saying that it will be "catastrophic" if the United States defaults on its obligations.
"We've come forward with our plan," he said. "The president's got to come back with what his plan is. I think we're reasonable to say we're willing to raise the debt ceiling, but we want meaningful spending cuts and capping spending at 2022 levels."