Act Daily News
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The high Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday requested from the State Department an unlimited variety of paperwork associated to the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking the official launch of the newly Republican-led panel’s investigation into the chaotic exit.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, gave the division a deadline of January 26 to reply. He threatened the facility of subpoena if the division doesn’t comply.
“It is imperative that the State Department provide complete responses to these longstanding requests, and the Committee will not tolerate continued delay,” McCaul wrote to Secretary of State Tony Blinken in a letter reviewed by Act Daily News. “In the event of noncompliance, the Committee will use the authorities available to it to enforce these requests as necessary, including through compulsory process.”
The Afghanistan probe into the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan is simply one in all many investigations into the Biden administration that House Republicans are starting to push forward.
McCaul, within the 10-page letter, requested a listing of all interagency conferences associated to the withdrawal that occurred in the course of the Biden administration. He additionally requested details about all conferences with the Taliban since January 2021.
In addition to digging into the planning that went into the withdrawal, and the withdrawal course of, the letter makes it clear that the committee is involved in probing the after-effects of the withdrawal.
Questions embody: “What are the Administration’s intentions for rescinding and/or reprogramming foreign assistance in Afghanistan?” and “What is the U.S. Government’s current relationship with the Taliban?” and “What is the status of SIV, P1, and P2 visa application processing?”
McCaul and Republican colleagues on the committee despatched the division not less than three requests for related data final yr. But throughout that point McCaul was within the minority and the division didn’t present the data requested.
The Republicans on the committee went forward with a report into the withdrawal final yr, regardless of not gaining access to paperwork or interviews with State Department officers. But now that Republicans are within the majority within the House, they’ve extra energy to wield and might legally require the administration to provide them data.
At the State Department, a small group of officers had begun planning for the approaching investigation into Afghanistan final yr, officers stated.
McCaul and Blinken had began off on pleasant footing with each side casting their assembly on the State Department earlier within the week as productive.
“It was a truly constructive – at least from our vantage point – successful engagement with the chairman,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated on Thursday. “Yesterday’s engagement with Chairman McCaul was the start of that engagement with the 118th Congress, but we expect a lot more to come.”
When requested if the division would adjust to doc requests associated to the Afghanistan withdrawal Price prevented a agency dedication. Price stated, typically, that the Biden administration believes within the utility and necessity of the features of Congress.
“We look forward to continuing our engagement with this Congress on those areas that are of interest to them and that most importantly are of priority to the American people,” Price stated.
The State Department did its personal assessment of the Afghanistan withdrawal final yr, however the division has but to extensively launch its findings. The report was concluded greater than 10 months in the past, sources informed Act Daily News.