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WASHINGTON House Republicans plan to deliver a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday for classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Associated Press on Monday that he had spoken with Blinken earlier in the day when he was notified the agency would not be turning over a so-called dissent cable written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal.

We have made multiple good faith attempts to find common ground so we could see this critical piece of information, McCaul, R-Texas, said in a statement. Unfortunately, Secretary Blinken has refused to provide the Dissent Cable and his response to the cable, forcing me to issue my first subpoena as chairman of this committee.

The July 2021 communication warned Blinken about the potential fall of Kabul via a special dissent channel, which allows State Department officials to issue warnings or express contrarian views directly to senior agency officials, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The effort to force the release of the cable is thelatest in a series by McCauland otherHouse Republicansto hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a stunning failure of leadership after Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, far more rapidly than U.S. intelligence had foreseen as American forces pulled out.

Kabuls fall turned the Wests withdrawal into a rout, with Kabuls airport the center of a desperate air evacuation guarded by U.S. forces temporarily deployed for the task. A single explosive device that day killed at least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American service members.

McCaul made the Afghanistan-related document requests in January, upon becoming chairman of the committee, but he faced pushback from the department as he pursued his investigation into the withdrawal.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday that while he recognizes the importance and the keen interest in this cable, it would be a rare move for any secretary to turn over those documents to Congress.

It is a unique way for anyone in the department to speak truth to power as they see it without fear or favor. And they do it by the regulations we have established for these cables in a privileged and confidential way, Patel said. Its vital to us that we preserve the integrity of that process and of that channel.

Since the Dissent Channel was created in 1971, in part to address U.S. diplomats concerns over the Vietnam War, the State Department has held communications closely. Nearly all such cables are classified to protect the integrity of the process and the identities of dissenting Foreign Service officers. They are not generally intended for public consumption, however, some have been leaked to the press, often by their authors.

According to the National Security Archives at George Washington University, at least 123 Dissent Channel cables have been sent since 1971. The vast majority of those have remained classified and the State Department has long objected to efforts to force their release.

The basic contents of some Dissent Channel cables have become public, including in the Afghanistan withdrawal case. One of its authors was given an award for Constructive Dissent in 2022 by the union that represents U.S. diplomats.

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House Republicans to subpoena Blinken over Afghanistan dissent cable - MarketWatch

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had recently announced that he is not running for president on the GOP ticket after openly flirting with a bid. | Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Two years ago, top Republicans in Washington aggressively tried and failed to recruit then-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to run for the Senate. Now theyre testing the waters once more.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chair of the Senate GOPs campaign arm, called Hogan earlier this month, according to a GOP operative familiar with the conversation.

The two connected in what the operative described as a talk opening a channel. But during his chat with Daines, Hogan made it clear that his eye is not currently on the Senate.

The governor reiterated that he has never been interested in the Senate, the source told POLITICO.

A prominent moderate and anti-Trump Republican, Hogan had recently announced that he is not running for president on the GOP ticket after openly flirting with a bid. That raised questions about what type of political future he imagined for himself: whether it be a run for the Senate or an independent campaign for the White House, which he has not ruled out.

Daines and Hogan spoke a few days after Hogan announced hed forgo a Republican presidential run. Hogan, a popular politician in Maryland, was term-limited and ended his governorship at the beginning of this year.

In the wake of the GOPs midterm losses in 2022, Daines has decided to wade into primaries in hopes of nominating quality Senate candidates. He has sought to lure former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick into the race for Senate in Pennsylvania. Senate Republicans hope Gov. Jim Justice jumps into the contest in West Virginia as well.

Though Hogan would be a prized recruit, Maryland is by no means a must-win state for Republicans as they seek to flip the Senate chamber. There are several more promising targets, with Democratic incumbents running in Republican-leaning states.

One reason that political insiders are watching Marylands Senate race is that many expect Sen. Ben Cardin, who is 79, to retire. Cardin said in January that he is undecided on a re-election bid. As of the end of last year, he only had $1 million on hand, according to campaign finance filings.

GOP officials went to great lengths to try to persuade Hogan to run for the Senate in 2022 against the states other Senator: Democrat Chris Van Hollen. They tapped Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells wife, Elaine Chao, and moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to reel him in.

But Hogan ultimately decided against it, saying at the time that I just didnt see myself being a U.S. senator.

Hogan declined through an aide to provide a comment for this story. The National Republican Senatorial Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Top Republicans are trying to woo Larry Hogan (again). He's still not ... - POLITICO

This story was updated March 24, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. to correct the name of the representative who addressed a proposed constitutional amendment.

The support of several Republican House lawmakers Thursday gave Democrats wins on significant abortion bills.

By fairly wide margins, members voted to remove criminal and civil penalties from the states 24-week abortion ban and to prohibit the state from further restricting access to an abortion.

Legislation repealing the 24-week ban ended in a 192-192 tie, with five Republicans supporting repeal. The bill was tabled and is likely to stay there; un-tabling it requires a two-thirds vote moving forward.

And two bills that would have further restricted access to an abortion failed, again because Republicans joined Democrats in voting them down.

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, an Auburn Republican, issued a statement immediately after the votes, calling Democrats support for all three bills radical.

While it is easy for extremist Democrats to use heated rhetoric to try to advance their radical agenda, the fact of the matter is that public opinion is not on their side, Osborne said.

His statement did not acknowledge the impact made by the Republicans who voted with Democrats. The Houses near even party divide of 201 Republicans and 197 Democrats has made daily attendance and every vote all the more critical this session.

Osborne argued that polling has shown strong support for abortion rights in New Hampshire but also support for restrictions. Our current law satisfies and represents the majority of Granite Staters views on abortion. Todays votes prove the Republicans are not the extremists on this issue.

Abortion rights supporters will face a tougher fight when the bills reach the Senate, where Republicans have a 14-10 majority.

Gov. Chris Sununus office did not immediately return a message asking if he would sign the bills if they reach his desk. While campaigning for his fourth term, Sununu said he supported repealing penalties for violating the law, which include up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Rep. Dan Wolf, a Newbury Republican who helped add a fatal fetal anomaly exception to the abortion law last session, was the prime sponsor of this years bill to repeal the laws penalties. That effort, House Bill 224, passed 199-185 on Thursday, with the help of 16 Republicans.

The states abortion law allows an abortion after 24 weeks in limited circumstances: when a baby has a fetal anomaly that it is unlikely to survive or when continuing the pregnancy endangers a mothers life.

Medical providers, including Dr. Ilana Cass, chairwoman of obstetrics and gynecology at Dartmouth Health, told lawmakers that abortions at or after 24 weeks are rare. But they are also complicated, providers say, because a fatal fetal anomaly may be discovered shortly before 24 weeks, giving a provider and family little time to decide whether to terminate the pregnancy.

At an hearing earlier this year, Cass told lawmakers that threats of prison time and fines in such complicated situations have dissuaded providers from choosing to practice in New Hampshire.

Speaking on the House floor Thursday, Wolf reminded House members of Cass testimony, arguing that fewer providers mean fewer options for patients.

Wolf said his daughter was in the last days of her pregnancy in northern New Hampshire when she felt something was wrong. She made it to the hospital within an hour, enough time for medical staff to deliver her baby by an emergency Cesarean section.

The baby was born with its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck four times, Wolf said, The baby survived because she didnt have to drive an hour to Dartmouth or an hour and a half to Boston. We cannot allow the decline in good medical services to put our daughters at risk.

Rep. Bob Lynn, a Windham Republican, challenged arguments about the penalties severity, saying providers must know their decisions violate the law.

There is no doubt that doctors often are required to deal with complicated cases and to make difficult decisions, he said. But the requirement of engaging in knowingly unlawful conduct affords health care providers substantial protection against being prosecuted for mere errors in judgment, even in circumstances where with the benefit of hindsight they perhaps should have acted.

Ahead of this weeks session, Osborne had said leadership would not call for further abortion restrictions. Several Republicans went further Thursday, voting with Democrats to pass House Bill 88, which would leave the existing law in place but prohibited the state from setting additional restrictions on access to abortion.

Rep. Kristine Perez, a Londonderry Republican, was not among them. Perez argued the existing law poses no threat to those who have an abortion prior to 24 weeks.

There is no law stating I cannot hike Mount Washington, Perez said. Therefore, if a law enforcement officer arrested me for hiking Mount Washington, it would have no merit and be thrown out.

She added: There is no law that says you have to wear a yellow shirt on Fridays. Therefore, you cannot be arrested for wearing a blue shirt on Friday. We have a law that allows women to exercise their rights as stated in the existing (law).

Rep. Alexis Simpson, an Exeter Democrat and the bills prime sponsor, countered that the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn federal abortion protections makes state protections even more critical.

The 24-week abortion ban did not guarantee abortion protections prior to that cutoff, she said. HB 88 adds critical protections prior to 24 weeks, prohibiting the state from interfering with a womans access to abortion in the first 23 weeks of pregnancy.

The bill passed in a 199-185 division vote, a process that doesnt reveal how each member voted. But the Democrats are two members shy of 199 when all are present and voting and not all were Thursday.

An effort to add constitutional protections for reproductive health choices like abortion won a narrow 193-191 majority but fell far short of the required three-fifths vote to pass. Rep. Eric Turer, a Brentwood Democrat, urged representatives to support the legislation, which would have allowed voters to decide whether to enshrine the right in the state constitution.

Lets do the little D democratic thing. Lets do the little C conservative thing. Lets do the true Live Free or Die thing, Turer said. Lets pass this elegantly crafted bill to offer the people back their right.

Three Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure.

The House defeated House Bill 591, which would have banned abortion after six weeks. The 217-110 vote included 81 Republicans voting against the bill.

House Bill 562, the so-called informed consent bill, failed on a voice vote. It would have added a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, during which time providers would have to tell the person seeking the abortion about the health risks of abortion, the availability of government assistance for pregnancy care, and the fact that the childs father is liable for child support if his identity can be determined..

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Republicans help deliver Democrats two abortion wins New ... - New Hampshire Bulletin

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The Republican Party has a problem: Individual freedom for women to choose how they handle their reproductive health is wildly popular with voters.

In last Novembers midtermsthe first general election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadesupporters of reproductive rights won every abortion-related state ballot measure, even in red states. Concerns over abortion rights helped propelDemocratic candidates to victory in race after race. With 13 states banning nearly allabortionssince June, dissatisfaction with Republican abortion policies is soaring high among US adults, and 60 percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

So what is the Grand Old Party to do? Their answer, in several states, is to attempt to curb voters power on this front (and others) by taking aim at the roles of elected officials.

In Georgia and Texas, state legislatures are advancing bills that create a process to boot elected prosecutors from office if they decline to enforce a state lawas nearly 100prosecutors across the country pledged to do after the Supreme Court eliminated the right to abortion last June. The Georgia effort would create a commission that could remove or discipline prosecutors who demonstrate a willful and persistent failure to perform his or her duties. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Texas package of bills would allowing district court juries to remove prosecutors who set a policy of not enforcing a particular lawsuch as the states criminal abortion ban.

The bills involve issues beyond abortion, taking aim at the progressive prosecutors who have recently won elections in big Texas cities on promises not to charge certain low-level crimes, such as minor drug possession. But tellingly, theyve drawn support from anti-abortion activist groups.Prosecutors who decline to file charges in abortion-related cases undercut the gains we have made, Rebecca Parma, legislative director for Texas Right to Life, recently testified, according to the Chronicle.

Meanwhile in Ohio, where a law banning abortion after six weeks is currently blocked by a court challenge, reproductive rights groups submitted language last month for a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion, which is expected to go before voters in November. Republicans lawmakers who want to make it harder for that amendment to pass have been pushing a different amendment that would raise the threshold of passage for state constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60 percent supermajority. That proposal had appeared to die last December, amid protests and dissent among lawmakers. But the issue was renewed in a hearing last week, where its sponsor, state Rep. Brian Stewart, argued that constitutional amendments should be able to earn the widespread support that a 60 percent margin will require.

Theres a complication, though: For the higher vote threshold to apply to the abortion amendment, voters would first need to approve the supermajority amendment in a special election this summer. And here, Republican have shot themselves in the foot. Three months ago, as part of an elections bill that will require photo ID at the polls, they eliminated August special electionsarguing that those were too costly and drew low voter turnout. So now Republicans in Ohio are also pushing a bill to revive the August special elections, specifically to undermine the abortion amendment. If we save 30,000 lives as a result of spending $20 million, I think thats a great thing, Ohio Senate president Matt Huffman said last Thursday, according to the Ohio Capitol Journal.

The hypocrisy here has no bounds, Democratic state Rep. Alison Russo, the Ohio House minority leader, told the Capitol Journal. Really what this is about is silencing the voice of voters and shutting down direct democracy.

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Anti-Abortion Republicans Are Pushing State Legislation to ... - Mother Jones

Candidate says city needs a strong leader who can make hard decisions

Jodie Perry says the city, community and region are facing a "pivotal moment."

"We need a strong leader, someone who can build positive relationships, someone who can make hard decisions," she said.

Perry is one of four Republican candidates running in the May 2 primary to replace Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker, who cannot run again because of term limits. Early voting begins April 4.

Perry is vying with Jim Holsinger, Linn Steward and Stephanie Zader. The winner will face Democrat Sherry Vaught in November's general election.

A resident of Mansfield since 2014, Perry has been the president and CEO of Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.

Since her September announcement that she would run for mayor, Perry has assumed the title of chief operating officer.

Perry, 46, is a native of Rochester, New York. She came to the area to attend Ashland University, where she majored in political science and religion and minored in history.

"All the things you're not to speak about at the dinner table," Perry said.

She oversaw the affiliation with the countywide economic development organization, Richland Community Development Group in 2017, which has focused on bringing higher-paying jobs to the area.

Perry is also a co-leader of the Mansfield Rising project, which established a Downtown Improvement Plan in 2018.

"I really have made a lot of great connections in this community," she said. "My love for the community is very genuine. I thought this is the place where I wanted to stay."

Prior to coming to the local chamber, Perry led the Greece (N.Y.) Chamber of Commerce for eight years and the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce in Ohio.

She also was the director of research and communication for the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce.

For the last few months, Perry has been a regular attendee at Mansfield City Council meetings.

"I'm used to a board of directors, which is different than council," she said. "It's been interesting to learn about that."

Perry said she decided to run because Theaker is serving his final year.

"With the experience and work I've done with the city, I was interested," she said. "It's related to what I do at the chamber but different. I enjoy challenges."

Perry says she wants to focus on economic development as a foundation.

"We need to grow. I think Mansfield is well-positioned for further growth," she said.

She said she wants to see the city build, secure and prepare.

"Essential upgrades to Mansfield's underlying infrastructure will improve our safety, plus create a strong foundation for future development," Perry said in campaign literature. "Our safety services need the tools, training and personnel to provide the service you expect."

Regarding preparation, she said, "Fiscal responsibility can be done with wise management of your tax dollars while minimizing the burden to city residents and businesses."

Perry has been going door-to-door in her campaign and has seven billboards. She jokes she's getting tired of seeing her own face.

She is being endorsed by Theaker, Ontario Mayor Randy Hutchinson, Richland County Commissioners Tony Vero and Darrell Banks, Shelby Mayor Steve Schag, Mansfield City Council members Aurelio Diaz and Laura Burns, Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus, county Auditor Pat Dropsey and county Engineer Adam Gove.

"What people have seen from me at the chamber in terms of my work ethic, my ability to collaborate ... I am who I am," Perry said.

She noted there will be many changes in city administration. Along with mayor, there will be new law and finance directors and new municipal court judges.

"To me, it's a good opportunity to build new relationships," Perry said. "Whatever happened in the past can just stay there. I think everybody's excited for fresh ideas."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

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Perry is one of 4 Republicans seeking nomination for Mansfield mayor - Mansfield News Journal