Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is blocking the promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who was in command of the 82nd Airborne Division during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to The Hill.
The outlet reported that the Senate Armed Services Committee approved nearly 1,000 military promotions on Tuesday, Donahue’s to four-star general among them.
However, on Thursday Donahue’s name was left off the list of promotions approved by the full Senate before members departed Washington, D.C., to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in their home districts.
A source told The Hill that it’s their understanding that Mullin held up Donahue’s promotion over the general’s role in the botched Afghanistan pullout.
Newsmax has reached out to Mullin’s office for comment.
On Friday, the Pentagon called on the Senate to approve Donahue’s promotion.
“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 said. “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 oversaw the 82nd Airborne as it secured the airfield at Hamid Karzai International Airport while Americans and Afghanis scrambled to leave the country ahead of the Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.
According to The Hill, the special operations veteran is known as the last U.S. servicemember to make it out of Kabul the night before the cutoff.
President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans have frequently criticized the Biden administration for the military decisions that led to the chaotic American withdrawal from the region. Thirteen U.S. servicemembers and more than 170 Afghans were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the airport’s Abbey Gate.
No one involved in the operation has been disciplined over it, but NBC News reported last week that the incoming Trump administration’s transition team is considering court martials for current and former senior military officers who were directly involved.
In a post on social platform X in September, Mullin listed Donahue as one of the officials who he said still need to be held accountable for the exit from Afghanistan.
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