Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged Tuesday he has not submitted a resignation over the deadly Afghan evacuation that left 13 troops dead and billions of dollars worth of U.S. gear in the hands of the Taliban.
During the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee Hearing, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) asked Blinken directly if he had given his resignation to President Joe Biden due to having “heard rumors regarding potential cabinet resignations.”
“I want to ask you, have you submitted your resignation regarding this issue,” Hagerty asked in a low tone deliberate tone.
“I have not,” Blinken dryly responded.
“The lack of accountability here, the lack of accountability in this administration is shocking to me,” Hagerty responded to Blinken’s response.
After the committee hearing, Hagerty told Fox News that he did not hear “enough” accountability from Blinken. The “Biden administration is not taking responsibility for this. I was very direct with Secretary Blinken today,” Hagerty said. “Accountability is critical.”
Blinken’s response comes after three Republican members of Congress on Monday demanded Blinken resign during the a House committee hearing. Those three representatives, Joe Wilson (SC), Lee Zeldin (NY), and Tim Burchett (TN), also said the so-called “extraordinary effort” by Blinken was failure because “American troops and Afghan civilians, including children, suffered casualties during the ordeal.”
In August, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) introduced the articles of impeachment for Blinken in which they cited his “failures in leadership over [the] Afghanistan situation,” Fox News reported.
The filed articles of impeachment follow at least seven other House Republicans demanding someone from Biden’s administration to immediately resign or be fired. Those members include Reps. Mary Miller (IL), Mike Johnson (LA), Don Bacon (NE), Chris Stewart (UT), Jackie Walorski (ID), Yvette Herrell (R-NM), Ronney Jackson (R-TX).
Herrell stated that Biden and his whole “senior brass” should resign, including Secretary of State Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Gen. Mark Milley:
A disgraceful dereliction of duty by President Biden and senior brass. @SecBlinken, @SecDef, and Gen. Milley @thejointstaff should resign and hand the reins to leaders who actually want to protect Americans and the brave men and women who serve in our military.
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