WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday advanced contempt of Congress charges against Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary over an appearance to testify on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The 26-25 party-line vote was just the latest friction point between the GOP and the State Department this Congress. Republicans have worked for the last 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a “stunning failure of leadership” after Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital in August 2021.

“Rather than take accountability for this, the secretary hides from the American people. He would prefer to hide rather than be before this committee today,” said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the committee.

The resolution now moves to the full House, which could vote to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress and refer the matter to the Justice Department. But Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters the measure likely won’t be taken up until after the presidential election.

Blinken, in a letter Sunday to McCaul, said that he was “profoundly disappointed” in the chairman’s decision to advance contempt proceedings and urged him to find a resolution in “good faith.”

McCaul had first set a hearing for Blinken to testify last Thursday, while the secretary was in Egypt and France. He then changed the date to Tuesday, when Blinken was at the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York.

As all secretaries of state have in the past, Blinken will spend the entire week in New York holding dozens of meetings with his counterparts on a variety of issues.

Blinken has testified about Afghanistan 14 times, including four times before McCaul’s committee, according to the State Department.

But during the meeting Tuesday, McCaul said that the secretary has only attended the yearly budget hearings since he became chair and has never appeared to discuss their investigation into the withdrawal.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken was willing to testify again if a mutually convenient time could be arranged but noted that Congress will be in recess from the end of this week until after the November election.