Update: Sen. Mullin dropped his hold on Gen. Donahue’s nomination. Read it here.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is blocking the promotion of a general who oversaw the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. According to The Hill, Lt. General Christopher Donahue was one of nearly 1,000 promotions the Senate Armed Services Committee approved Tuesday, Nov. 19, but when the full chamber voted Thursday, his name was not on the list.
Lt. Gen. Donahue was nominated by President Biden to be the head of the U.S. Army in Europe. Sources told the outlet Mullin objected to his nomination due to his role in Afghanistan.
Mullin’s office declined to comment.
“Lt. Gen. Donahue is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and has served his country for more than thirty years,” Pentagon spokesman James Adams told The Hill in a statement. “His appointment comes at an extremely critical time in the European region. We urge the Senate to confirm all of our highly qualified nominees. Holds on our nominees undermine our military readiness.”
Donahue is known as the last man out of Afghanistan. At the time, he was commanding officer of the 82nd Airborne division, which was in charge of securing Hamid Karzai International Airport while the military evacuated Americans and Afghans after the Taliban took over.
The Afghanistan withdrawal has been sharply criticized due to the casualties and the $7 billion in military equipment that was left behind. Thirteen service members died in addition to 170 Afghan civilians after a suicide bomber detonated a device at the airport’s gate.
NBC News reported the Trump transition team is compiling a list of officers who could be court-martialed for their involvement. To date, no one has been formally punished for their role in the withdrawal.
