Sen. Mullin drops hold on promotion of general who led Afghanistan withdrawal

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The US Army will have a new commander for Europe and Africa after Senator Markwayne Mullin dropped his hold on Lt. General Christopher Donahue’s nomination. Mullin objected to Donahue due to his role in Afghanistan.

The Senate approved the general’s promotion from three to four stars Monday afternoon. The hold lasted about ten days. 

General Donahue is known as the last man out of Afghanistan. In 2021, he was commanding officer of the 82nd Airborne division, which was in charge of securing Hamid Karzai International Airport while Americans and Afghans were evacuated. 

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. 

Mullin described the withdrawal as a “disaster” and called out General Donahue specifically. 

“You cannot sit here and tell me that that was a successful withdrawal. Don’t you think someone should be held accountable? It was an absolute disaster.”  

The Pentagon called on Mullin to drop his objection. A spokesperson said blocking nominees undermines military readiness at a critical time in the European region. 

Mark Esper, who served as Defense Secretary during the Trump administration, called Donahue a great pick and said the hold should be dropped ASAP. He added responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept. 

Accountability may be coming. 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. 

“His appointment comes at an extremely critical time in the European region. We urge the Senate to confirm all of our highly qualified nominees,” Pentagon spokesman James Adams told The Hill in a statement. “Holds on our nominees undermine our military readiness.”