A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw troops in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a Senate aide.
The move by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is a Republican, follows threats from President-elect Donald Trump to fire senior officers and officials who oversaw the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, and as Trump’s transition team weighs possible court-martial proceedings against current and former officers 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 by the Army the “last man out” of Afghanistan when he boarded his U.S. military flight out of Kabul in 2021. A night-vision photograph of Donahue boarding a cargo plane went viral, capturing the symbolism of the end of America’s 20-year-long war.
After the U.S.-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 U.S. forces and evacuation of American embassy staff and civilians.
Retired Gen. Tony Thomas, former head of Special Operations Command, said in a social media post that the decision to put his promotion on hold was a “disgrace” and that Donahue was being treated as a “political pawn.”
Heather Nauert, who worked for the State Department in Trump’s first presidential term, said in a social media post that she is a Trump supporter and likes Mullin but disagreed with the holdout on Donahue’s promotion.
“Unless there are facts I don’t know, holding up military promotions bc of our disgraceful Afghanistan withdrawal is wrong,” she wrote on a post on X.
But other officials who served in the Pentagon offered support for Mullin, arguing Donahue and other generals bore some responsibility for the disorderly exit from the 20-year war, including the Abbey Gate airport bombing that left 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghan civilians dead.
Anthony Tata, who performed the duties of the under secretary of defense for policy during the Trump administration and served for 28 years in the Army, argued Donahue should be held “accountable.”
“Under Chris Donahue’s command, 13 servicemen and women were killed with dozens of others grievously wounded, not to mention the hundreds of civilians. … Blame whomever you want for that colossal failure, but Donahue reaped the accolades for being the last boots on the ground, as evidenced by the staged photo,” he wrote Saturday in a post to X.
Ezra A. Cohen, who served as the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence during the Trump administration, suggested that all promotions for general officers and flag officers should be held during the transition between presidential administrations.
“This should not be about any one promotion. This is about ensuring that [general officer and flag officer] promotions are merit based,” he wrote Friday on X. “Unfortunately we know that the Biden Administration has heavily corrupted the promotion process.”
Donahue is currently commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
His promotion could now be at risk as the current Senate will soon go into recess and the new Republican-controlled Congress will start its work in 2025.
Trump often touched on the Afghanistan withdrawal during 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 laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the families of the victims.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump said later that day, addressing the National Guard Association of the United States conference.
Since his election, Trump’s transition team has begun to compile a list of current and former U.S. military officials involved in the chaotic withdrawal and has looked into possibly court-martialing them for their involvement, NBC News previously reported.
The transition team is considering creating a commission to investigate the withdrawal, namely who was directly involved in the decision-making process and how it was carried out.
Two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News earlier this month that the commission could investigate whether military leaders involved are eligible for charges as serious as treason.
But the Trump administration might not pursue treason charges, instead potentially focusing on lesser charges that highlight the officers’ involvement.
“They want to set an example,” a person with knowledge of the plan told NBC News earlier this month.
