Washington (CNN) - House Republicans continued to demand answers Wednesday on the Benghazi attack, one day the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a congressional subpoena to current and former State Department officials over the issue.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 15 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee demanded to know what actions were taken against four people Kerry had testified would face consequences for failing to protect Chris Stevens, the ambassador to Libya, and others at the U.S. mission in Benghazi,
Stevens was among four Americans killed on September 11, 2012, in an attack later characterized as an organized assault by terrorists.
Kerry, who testified before the House panel in April, had promised to weigh in on actions taken against those who were documented as allowing what lawmakers called "the grossly inadequate security at the diplomatic facility in Benghazi last year."
"Now that over one month has passed since your testimony," the House lawmakers wrote, "we expect an immediate update on this process." The letter was signed by Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, the chairman of the committee, and 14 other Republicans.
A State Department official said Kerry is "closely reviewing the status of the four individuals on administrative leave."
"As someone who for 29 years in the Senate was regarded as a top investigator and champion of oversight, he believes deeply in Congress’s role in foreign policy," the official continued. "He also believes he needs to understand the facts on these specific cases and he will be making a decision on these cases soon."
Kerry this week has also been subpoenaed by another congressional panel in the Republican-led House. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is demanding additional documents as part of his investigation into the Obama administration's response to the Benghazi attack.
Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said Kerry had not responded to the subpoena, which carries a deadline of June 7. "We are taking stock of this recent subpoena and determining the next appropriate steps," she said at a briefing for reporters.