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Tony Blinken could be the first-ever secretary of state to face criminal charges from Congress, after House Republicans said they plan to hold him in contempt for failing to produce documents about the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) said Sunday that he will "move forward to contempt proceedings" against Blinken. "This would be the first time a secretary of state has ever been held in contempt by Congress and it's criminal contempt, so I don't take it lightly," McCaul said on ABC’s This Week. McCaul’s comments come after Blinken missed a deadline last...

Despite what is at stake, the administration is still too slow in getting critical weapon systems to Ukraine. Ukraine right now has only enough weapons to prevent an outright Russian takeover, but not to secure victory in driving Russian forces out of the country. This strategy of incrementalism and hesitation will only prolong this conflict and lead to more Russian war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities. The administration has recently committed to provide M1 Abrams tanks, as well as longer range Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) – this is encouraging. Unfortunately, these new systems were committed too...

Republican Congressional members have urged President Joe Biden to veto an anti-Israel resolution slated to be brought before the U.N. Security Council on Monday."As the UN Security Council once again moves to consider another one-sided, biased, anti-Israel resolution, it is imperative that the United States maintain its position that only direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can yield progress," Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy wrote in a letter to the president.The missive was co-signed by Steve Scalise, the Majority Leader and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul."If the U.N. Security Council takes action on Monday to punish Israel,...

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who serves on House Foreign Affairs Committee, was, to say the least, unimpressed by the Biden administration’s classified briefing on the China spy balloon and blasted the briefing as “unspecific, insufficient, and backward-looking.” Senior administration officials conducted the briefing in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF). Not only did the briefing fail to provide adequate information on the spy balloon that was shot down, but no evidence of Chinese spy balloons taking place during the Trump administration was presented. “What I took away from this briefing confirmed that this administration and not the previous one had...

Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) said Thursday on CNN’s “At This Hour” that the United States giving aid to help Ukraine fight against Russia’s invasion has “destroyed the Russian military without one American soldier being killed.” On Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to a joint meeting of Congress, McCaul said, “What I appreciated about his speech, a couple of things. One were the parallels that he made to World War II. That would be my father’s war. When we go to Poland, they talk about 1939 and Hitler, and had we stopped him at that point in time, we would have...

A leading Republican said the Chinese communist regime is using American technology to develop its new weapons systems, and leveraging predatory international deals to secure access to vital trade infrastructure. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that Chinese weapons, including the hypersonic missile tested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last year, have been built using American technology. “What’s probably the biggest highlighted example of this? The hypersonic missile,” McCaul said during a fireside chat with the Atlantic Council, a D.C.-based think tank. “The weapon that we saw China launch with great precision … and can actually carry a nuclear warhead.”...

According to The Financial Times, US senator Sen. Marco Rubio said that Apple is “playing with fire” with its plans to use chips from a controversial Chinese government-associated company. A report from a South Korean publisher revealed Apple’s plans to collaborate with Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) for the new lineup of iPhones. “If [Apple] moves forward, it will be subject to scrutiny like it has never seen from the federal government,” Rubio told the Financial Times. Another senator, Rep. McCaul, shared that YMTC has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist party and military. “Apple will effectively be transferring knowledge...

It is unlikely Pelosi would back down now, although if she did, the US would need to take measures to not look weak, an Asia expert said A US news broadcaster on Thursday cited sources as saying that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed for Asia yesterday, with a “tentative” itinerary for Taiwan. The trip’s official itinerary comprises Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, NBC News said. The report also cited sources as saying that Pelosi’s Taiwan itinerary was only listed as “tentative,” and whether she would visit Taiwan is not clear. The report said that Pelosi has...

The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to call for an investigation of war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Six House Republicans voted against the measure. “We rise today not as Republicans, Democrats, but as Americans, as a united Congress on behalf of the American people condemning these atrocities,” said Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas and the co-author of the bill. The six Republicans who opposed the legislation did not immediately explain their votes, but nearly all of them were members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus and have argued against interventionist foreign policy.

"Unlike Michael McCaul, we are only & narrowly interested in the interests of our own country." Clip...

Even as Moscow invades Ukraine, the Biden administration is relying on Russia to solidify a revamped nuclear agreement with Iran, a deal that senior Republican foreign policy leaders say will be approved in the coming days without any input from Congress. As Russian forces press further into Ukraine, threatening to spark a world war, the Biden administration is rushing to finalize a Russia-brokered nuclear deal with Iran, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Washington Free Beacon. "Russia's further invasion of Ukraine is reprehensible, but we can't lose sight of the...

Republican senators are unmoved by Tucker Carlson’s relentless warpath against support for Ukraine — even as it widens an existing rift in their party. The Fox News prime time host and others on the far-right have excused and even rationalized Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and downplayed its relevance to U.S. national security. And while GOP senators are shrugging off his name-and-shame campaign, Carlson’s views are permeating the GOP base in a way that could undermine Republicans’ efforts to emphasize cross-party unity as they seek to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee suggested Friday that China will launch an invasion of Taiwan sometime after next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. “I do think after the Olympics — China has gotten so provocative, so aggressive in the South China Sea, that you are going to see the CCP, the [Chinese] Communist Party invading Taiwan,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told reporters on a conference call. McCaul argued further that resident Biden’s botched messaging on the ongoing Ukraine crisis sent a signal of weakness to America’s adversaries, which McCaul believes they will look to exploit. ......

A top House Republican revealed Sunday the investigation into the man who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue on Saturday has gone international. What are the details? Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN host Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" there is "something more" to the case than a lone actor. In fact, McCaul disclosed that the FBI's investigation now extends to London and Tel Aviv. "I know the FBI has now fanned their investigation out to London and Tel Aviv. So this has now turned into an...

(CNN)Multiple lawmakers angrily stormed out of a classified briefing with members of the Biden administration on Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, according to three sources familiar with the briefing. The Republican and Democratic lawmakers grew frustrated after State Department, Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and Office of the Director of National Security officials failed to answer their basic questions during the briefing for members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the sources told CNN.... ...Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" on Wednesday that "everybody walked out"...

NAIROBI — The disappearance of a young intelligence officer in Somalia has led to a rapidly escalating power struggle between the president and prime minister ... Details of what happened to Ikran Tahlil Farah, a 25-year-old cybersecurity analyst, are still murky. But her abduction led President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Thursday to suspend the powers of the prime minister, who has accused him of obstructing justice in Tahlil’s case. The political showdown risks becoming a security crisis, experts say, and has blown up any pretense that Somalia’s federal government is functioning.... ...Rep. Michael McCaul (Tex.), the ranking Republican on the...

...The White House and State Department have maintained that they hold leverage over the Taliban... but a senior congressional source told CBS News that the Taliban is basically holding the planes "hostage" so they can "get more out of the Americans."... ...Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, agrees. He told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that he's concerned that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will come away from the talks recommending that the Biden administration acknowledge the Taliban as the legitimate government...

Dems divided as anti-Israel flank grows more vocal Democratic leaders convinced their colleagues on Tuesday to drop an effort championed by the party’s left flank that would have delayed U.S. military assistance to Israel as the country battles Iranian-backed terrorist groups. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), the House’s second-highest-ranking Democrat, told reporters that after pressure from leadership, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), abandoned efforts to delay over $735 million in arms sales to Israel. The Jewish state has used such weaponry during the past two weeks to battle Hamas terrorists as they...

ORLANDO — Former President Donald Trump may be one of the most important influencers in the 2022 election, but House Republicans are huddling without him in his home state of Florida as they craft a message that can help them win back the majority next year. Lawmakers gathered in Orlando beginning on Sunday for an annual, three-day issues conference to help chart a course on messaging and policy priorities for the next 18 months. There will be no pep talk from the former GOP president, who helped create a schism within the party on what role, if any, Trump should...

Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, was one of only a handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his role in inciting the Capitol riot. More than a majority of GOP House members have since indicated they'd support ousting Cheney from her leadership spot, while at least two other Republicans have lined up to replace her, Politico reports. At least 107 House members — more than half the caucus — privately support removing Cheney from power, multiple GOP sources involved in the effort told Politico. Meanwhile New York Reps. Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin, who defended...