Washington (CNN) The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday threatened to subpoena the nation's top diplomat to testify about the Trump administration's policy in Iran and Iraq.

Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, requested that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appear before the committee on Wednesday, January 29. Pompeo did not appear at a hearing on the same matter earlier in the week after being invited by the chairman the week prior.

"As the Administration's public face of this policy, your participation at this hearing is necessary so that the committee can conduct appropriate oversight and consider legislative alternatives related to the use of military force as well as the strategy and aims of American policy in Iran, Iraq, and the broader Middle East," Engel wrote in Friday's letter. "I consider your testimony to be of extremely high importance and am prepared to use all legal means to ensure your attendance."

The State Department did not immediately reply to an inquiry as to whether Pompeo would participate. He was in California at the time of the earlier hearing.

Engel's renewed invitation comes the same week that the Trump administration abruptly canceled four classified congressional briefings related to the ongoing situation with Iran and Iraq. Senate and House aides confirmed to CNN that the State Department had called off two briefings on Wednesday -- one on embassy security and another with senior State Department officials about the administration's Iran policy and authorities for the use of force.

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