Idaho senator blasted for his 'nutters' questioning of Antony Blinken during Afghanistan hearing: ‘Full-on Q’

On Tuesday, September 14, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho was among the senators who questioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a hearing on the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan. Risch is a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his questioning took a strange turn when he wanted to know if someone in the Biden White House is preventing President Joe Biden from speaking.

Risch looked like he was at once puzzled and amused by Risch's line of questioning, and he told the Idaho senator, "I think anyone who knows the president, including members of this committee, knows that he speaks very clearly and very deliberately for himself. No one else does."

Risch's questioning is generating a lot of responses on Twitter. Vox's Aaron Ruper tweeted:

Rupar also noted the questioning of Blinken that has come from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin:

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin bluntly described the questioning as "nutters":

Here are some more reactions to the questioning of Blinken from Risch and other GOP senators: