A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw troops in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a Senate aide said.
The move by Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a Republican, follows threats from President-elect Donald Trump to fire senior officers and officials who oversaw the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and as Trump’s transition team weighs possible courts-martial current and former officials involved in the withdrawal.
Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue was nominated for promotion to four-star general and to oversee U.S. Army forces in Europe. His nomination was among more than 900 proposed nominations sent to the Senate, but Donahue’s was put on hold by Mullin, according to the Senate aide.
Mullin’s office declined to comment.
Donahue was dubbed the “last man out of Afghanistan” by the military when he boarded his U.S. military flight from Kabul in 2021. A night vision photo of Donahue boarding a cargo plane went viral and captured the symbolism of America’s end of the 20th century. year’s war.
After the US-backed government in Afghanistan fell to Taliban militants, Donahue – then commander of the 82nd Airborne Division – was ordered to Kabul to oversee the final withdrawal of US troops and the evacuation of the US embassy staff and citizens.
Retired Gen. Tony Thomas, former head of Special Operations Command, said in a social media post that the decision to suspend his promotion was a “disgrace” and that Donahue was treated like a “political pawn.”
Heather Nauert, who worked for the State Department during Trump’s first presidential term, said in a social media post that she is a Trump supporter and likes Mullin but disagreed with the delay in promoting Donahue.
“Unless there are facts unknown to me, holding back military promotions because of our shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan is wrong,” she wrote in a post on X.
But other officials serving in the Pentagon offered support to Mullin, arguing that Donahue and other generals bore some responsibility for the disorderly end to the 20-year war, including the Abbey Gate airport bombing, which killed 13 U.S. service members and hundreds Afghan civilians were killed. .
Anthony Tata, who held the duties of assistant secretary of defense for policy during the Trump administration and served 28 years in the military, argued that Donahue should be held “accountable.”
“Under Chris Donahue’s command, thirteen servicemen and women were killed, while dozens of others were seriously injured, not to mention hundreds of civilians. … Blame whoever you want for that colossal failure, but Donahue took credit for being the last boots on the line. the ground, as shown in the staged photo,” he wrote in a message to X on Saturday.
Ezra A. Cohen, who served as acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence during the Trump administration, proposed that all promotions for general officers and flag officers would occur during the transition between presidential administrations.
“This shouldn’t be about one single promotion. The point is to guarantee that [general officer and flag officer] promotions are based on merit,” he wrote on X on Friday. “Unfortunately, we know that the Biden administration has severely corrupted the promotion process.”
Donahue is currently commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
His promotion could now be in jeopardy as the current Senate will soon go into recess and the new Republican-controlled Congress will begin its work in 2025.
Trump has often spoken about the withdrawal from Afghanistan on the campaign trail in 2024, condemning it as a “humiliation” and “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.”
On the three-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing, Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery and joined the families of the victims in laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan has caused the collapse of American credibility and respect around the world,” Trump said later that day, in an address to the National Guard Association of the United States conference States.
Since his election, Trump’s transition team has begun compiling a list of current and former U.S. military officials involved in the chaotic withdrawal and investigating whether they could potentially be court-martialed for their involvement, NBC News reported earlier.
The transition team is considering setting up a committee to investigate the withdrawal, namely who was directly involved in the decision-making process and how this took place.
Two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News earlier this month that the committee could investigate whether the military leaders involved face charges as serious as treason.
But the Trump administration may not pursue treason charges, but may focus on lesser charges that highlight the agents’ involvement.
“They want to set an example,” a person with knowledge of the plan told NBC News earlier this month.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
