A Historic Vote: Condemning 15 Senior Biden-Harris Admin Officials for Failures During Afghanistan Withdrawal

Three years after the Biden-Harris administration’s deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, no one has been held accountable for the Biden-Harris administration's dereliction of duty, which resulted in the deaths of 13 brave U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians. This week at the UN General Assembly in New York, President Biden touted his withdrawal as "the right decision" — even though his withdrawal left a thousand Americans stranded under Taliban rule and emboldened America’s adversaries around the globe.

If the administration refuses to hold itself accountable for its catastrophic failures, then Congress must.

This week, the House of Representatives passed my resolution to condemn 15 Biden-Harris administration officials for their roles in the deadly withdrawal. This historic resolution was passed with bipartisan support from ten Democrats who set politics aside to do the right thing and deliver accountability for the American people.

My resolution made one thing clear: The Biden-Harris administration can no longer sweep their disaster under the rug.

Click below to watch my opening remarks in support of the resolution on the House floor.

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Click here to watch my closing remarks on the House Floor.

Holding Secretary Blinken in Contempt of Congress for Refusing to Testify on My Afghanistan Investigation

In May 2024, I publicly asked Secretary Blinken for his commitment to appear before my committee this September to answer for the findings in my 353-page report into the Biden-Harris administration’s failed Afghanistan withdrawal. Secretary Blinken’s testimony in September would have been crucial — both to provide answers for the American people and to inform legislation that could prevent a foreign policy disaster like this in the future.

For months, Secretary Blinken failed to schedule a date, forcing me to serve him a subpoena compelling him to testify before my committee at a hearing on September 24. As I repeatedly told the secretary, I would have held a hearing any day in September. But he claimed he did not have a single day of the entire month available for him to come before Congress. Despite my numerous attempts to accommodate Secretary Blinken’s schedule, he failed to appear for the hearing, defying my committee’s subpoena and violating federal law. As a result, I was forced to move forward with a resolution holding Secretary Blinken in contempt of Congress.

To this day, the secretary continues to prioritize political optics over transparency and accountability. Secretary Blinken — who would be the first secretary of state to be held in contempt of Congress — would rather hide from the American people than testify before my committee. He must not be allowed to skirt his responsibility and deny the American people answers.

I will continue to hold the Biden-Harris administration to account for their failures. The American people, our servicemembers, and our Gold Star families deserve accountability and legislative reforms to ensure a catastrophe like this never happens again.

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Working to Eliminate Childhood Cancer

As the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, I’ve met with countless cancer patients and advocates who have asked me for one thing: to give the kids a chance.

This week, the House of Representatives passed my bill, the Give Kids a Chance Act. This legislation authorizes the FDA to direct drug companies researching combination drug therapies for adults to also research them for children, where appropriate. Included in this legislation is another one of my bills, the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes the Pediatric Priority Review Voucher Program I created within the FDA to incentivize drug companies to develop cancer treatments for kids. This historic program led to the creation of immunotherapy at MD Anderson, and I'm proud it has been reauthorized for another five years.

I am very glad the House came together in a bipartisan spirit to pass this bill, which will work to save lives for decades to come. I spoke more about this bill and my work to fight childhood cancer on the House floor this week ⬇️

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Bolstering Chip Production to Protect U.S. National Security

I introduced the CHIPS for America Act because — as President Trump’s national security team told me — there’s no time to waste in boosting domestic semiconductor chip production. Semiconductors are the brains behind everything from your toaster to America’s most powerful fighter jets, making them critical to protecting our national security.

Since the CHIPS for America Act was authorized into law, companies that have received grants or loans have announced plans to invest billions of private sector dollars in new domestic chip manufacturing projects throughout Texas and across the nation. But despite the national security importance of semiconductors, these projects could be required to undergo lengthy federal environmental reviews.

This week, the House passed my Building Chips in America Act to accelerate the environmental regulatory process and cut unnecessary red tape for these manufacturing projects. This legislation underpins the intention of my CHIPS Act to ensure the timely production of these vital national security assets, creating thousands of American manufacturing jobs and cementing the United States as the global leader in the semiconductor industry. The bill also had bipartisan support from the Texas delegation!

I urge the president to sign this bill as soon as possible to ensure these critical technology components are made in the USA.

ICYMI: Rep. McCaul in the News

KBTX: Congressman Michael McCaul discusses annual Childhood Cancer Summit

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Fox News: 10 Dems vote with GOP to rebuke Biden officials over chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal

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New York Post: House Foreign Affairs panel votes to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt for refusal to testify on Afghanistan withdrawal

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