Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma placed a hold on the promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue that would have elevated him to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe.
Donahue is currently a three-star general who was nominated to become a four-star general by President Joe Biden earlier this month. Donahue was one of the top military officials overseeing the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
Mullin, who was serving in the House of Representatives at the time of the withdrawal, tried to lead his own outside efforts to extract Americans from Afghanistan, but was repeatedly stymied by the State Department and the Pentagon. Mullin placed a hold on Donahue’s promotion after the Senate approved promotions for hundreds of service members last week, according to The Washington Post.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to fire all senior officers from the Pentagon who were involved in the withdrawal, which resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and the loss of billions of dollars in military equipment. U.S. military sites were taken over by the Taliban and thousands of prisoners, many with terror ties, were released.
The Biden administration did not remove any senior military leaders following the chaotic withdrawal, despite security failings that cost the lives of American soldiers and hundreds of Afghans.
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Donahue told military investigators that he joined U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the final days of the withdrawal, learning that he was being dispatched to the country on August 16, 2021. The withdrawal ended weeks later on August 30. Donahue rode out on the last plane to leave Kabul.
The Pentagon touted Donahue’s qualifications in a statement to the Post.
“His appointment comes at an extremely critical time in the European region,” spokesman James Adams said. “We urge the Senate to confirm all of our highly qualified nominees. Holds on our nominees undermine our military readiness.”
While Democrats still hold a majority in the Senate, when it comes to military promotions, a single senator can hold up the process. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama held up hundreds of military promotions in 2022 and 2023 in protest of a Pentagon policy to pay for service members to travel out-of-state for abortions.