Multiple GOP congressmen tell Blinken to resign during heated Afghanistan hearing

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before House Foreign Affairs Committee on Afghanistan withdrawal

Three different Republican congressmen told Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his face on Monday that he should resign over his handling of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

During a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in which Blinken testified, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., blamed the Biden administration for allowing the Taliban to take over Afghanistan and turning it into a "safe haven for murderous terrorists." 

Wilson also blasted the administration for the crisis at the U.S. southern border, which he said allows individuals on the FBI's terrorist watchlist "to enter American neighborhoods as lone wolf suicide bombers to murder as many Americans as possible."

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"In American history, American families have never been at a greater risk of attack at home than today," Wilson told Blinken. "The global war on terrorism is not over, it has been moved from abroad to American homes. As the grateful father of an Afghanistan veteran, I especially see your actions as indefensible."

Wilson slammed the administration for pulling U.S. troops out of Bagram Air Base, which was handed back to the Afghan government on July 1 before it was overtaken by the Taliban on Aug. 15. He said that decision was directly responsible for the Aug. 26 suicide bombing attack in Kabul.

"Your bizarre abandoning of Bagram Airfield led directly to 13 Marines murdered at Kabul," he said. "You should resign."

The attack by Islamic State militants killed 11 U.S. Marines, one Army soldier, and one Navy corpsman.

Blinken didn’t respond to Wilson’s call for resignation but thanked him for expressing appreciation at the beginning of his statement for the U.S. Foreign Service diplomats all over the world that serve under the State Department.

"Let me simply thank the member for his support for the men and women of the State Department," Blinked said. "I appreciated that part of his statement. Thank you."

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Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., also called on Blinken to resign.

"We have an administration that does not know how to confront an adversary, understanding that they do not respect weakness, they only respect strength," he said. "And it is so greatly unfortunate, the consequences, and I believe that you, sir, should resign. That would be leadership."

Later in the hearing, Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett also called on Blinken to resign.