Army general who oversaw Afghanistan withdrawal promoted to four-star officer after GOP senator drops hold
By Oren Liebermann, CNN
(CNN) — An Army general who oversaw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was promoted to a four-star officer after a Republican senator dropped a hold on his nomination, according to a Senate aide.
The Senate on Monday confirmed Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue to be the commander of US Army Europe-Africa by unanimous consent, meaning no senator objected to his approval. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, had previously blocked the promotion, despite the Senate Armed Services Committee advancing 984 other military promotions.
It was not immediately clear why Mullin dropped his hold, and CNN is reaching out to Mullin’s office for comment.
Donahue, who currently serves as the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, oversaw the final withdrawal from Afghanistan and was the last US soldier on the ground at Kabul’s international airport.
A night vision picture of Donahue boarding a cargo flight out of the airport became a symbolic image of the end of a 20-year war and a chaotic withdrawal that saw the deaths of 13 US troops in a suicide bombing.
In addition to his current position as the commander of a storied military corps, Donahue has also been critical in the US effort to support Ukraine, helping to establish the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine. The organization was established in November 2022 as a more long-term extension of the work of 18th Airborne Corps, which deployed to Europe to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In a military career that has spanned more than three decades since his graduation from West Point, Donahue has deployed 20 times, including time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, North Africa and Eastern Europe, according to his Army biography.
Mullin was one of the most vocal Republicans calling for accountability after the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 US service members during the final days of the evacuation from Afghanistan. On the third anniversary of the bombing, Mullin said that “not one person has been held accountable for the disaster” and explicitly named Donahue. He also named former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who has repeatedly come under attack from President-elect Donald Trump, with whom he had a contentious relationship.
Donahue had the very public and vocal backing of a number of former Defense Department officials, including Mark Esper, who served as Trump’s Defense secretary for 16 months during his first term. Esper said on social media that Donahue was a “great pick” and had “tremendous experience.”
Calling for the hold to be lifted, Esper said, “Responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept, and certainly not with the uniformed leaders who faithfully executed Pres Biden’s misbegotten decisions.”
Retired Gen. Tony Thomas, who led US Special Operations Command, blasted the hold on social media, saying it was an “absolute disgrace,” while calling Donahue “the finest officer I ever served with.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
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