According to a Senate aide, a Republican senator has prevented a general who commanded forces in Kabul during the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan from being promoted.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma took this action in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s vows to dismiss senior officers and officials who were in charge of the botched 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. As previously reported by NBC News, it also occurs as Trump’s transition team considers potential court-martial charges against current and former commanders engaged in the pullout.
Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue was nominated to lead U.S. Army operations in Europe and be promoted to four-star general. According to the Senate aide, Donahue’s nomination was one of over 900 potential nominations that were sent to the Senate, but Sen. Mullin put it on hold.
Mullin’s office chose not to respond.
In 2021, Donahue was the last American service member to board the last American military aircraft leaving Afghanistan. The symbolism of the end of America’s 20-year war was captured in a night vision shot of Donahue boarding a cargo jet that went viral.
Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at the time, was sent to Kabul to supervise the evacuation of American forces, American embassy personnel, and Afghans who fought alongside American troops when Taliban terrorists overthrew the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.
In a social media post, retired Gen. Tony Thomas, the former commander of Special Operations Command, called the decision a disgrace and claimed that Donahue was being used as a political pawn.
In a social media post, Heather Nauert, a former State Department employee during Trump’s first term as president, stated that while she supports Trump and loves Sen. Mullin, she disagreed with the decision to halt Donahue’s promotion.
Holding up military promotions because of our shameful retreat from Afghanistan is unacceptable, she added, unless there are facts I’m not aware of.
At Fort Liberty in North Carolina, Donahue is the current commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Since the present Senate is about to go into recess and the incoming Republican-controlled Congress will begin operations in 2025, his elevation may now be in jeopardy.
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