Al-Qaeda and Taliban ties 'not been severed' -Blinken

"The relationship has not been severed, and it's a very open question as to whether their views and the relationship has changed in any kind of definitive way," Blinken said.

Lawmakers - President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats as well as Republicans - peppered Blinken with questions and criticism about the messy end last month to America's longest war and why the administration did not delay to allow more people to be evacuated.