Top Democrat threatens to subpoena Biden officials as Blinken testifies on Afghanistan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, facing a second day of interrogation from Republican lawmakers highly critical of the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Driving the news: The committee's chair, the hawkish New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, pulled no punches in his opening statement, threatening to subpoena Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other Biden officials who decline to voluntarily appear before the committee.

"Mr. Secretary, the execution of the U.S. withdrawal was clearly and fatally flawed," Menendez told Blinken.

Menendez promised accountability for the multiple administrations who "lied" about the stability of the Afghan government, and said Austin's refusal to testify "will affect my personal judgment on Department of Defense nominees."

Highlights: Blinken testified that the administration began planning for a "worst-case scenario" in Afghanistan in the spring and summer, including contingencies for evacuating the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 48 hours and establishing control over the airport.

The secretary declined to give the committee a copy of a July 13 State Department dissent cable that warned of the imminent collapse of the Afghan government soon after the U.S. withdrawal, saying those cables are designed "only to be shared with senior officials in the department."

Blinken said the State Department is “still tabulating" the number of Special Immigrant Visa applicants who need to leave Afghanistan, and that "thousands" of American green-card holders remain in the country.