WASHINGTON, – A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of U.S. Army Lieutenant General Christopher Donahue, who commanded the army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the course of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and was the final American soldier to depart the nation in 2021.
A U.S. official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned the maintain had been positioned by Senator Markwayne Mullin, who didn’t reply to a request for touch upon why he blocked the promotion.
The Pentagon on Monday mentioned it was conscious of the maintain on Donahue, who had been nominated for a fourth star by President Joe Biden to guide the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa.
“We are conscious that there’s a maintain on Lieutenant General Donahue,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh informed reporters.
President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have decried the United States’ army withdrawal from Afghanistan and vowed to go after these liable for it. In August, Trump mentioned he would ask for the resignation of each senior official “who touched the Afghanistan calamity.”
“You have to fireside folks once they do a nasty job. We by no means fireplace anyone,” Trump has mentioned.
Reuters has reported that Trump’s transition workforce is drawing up an inventory of army officers to be fired, in what could be an unprecedented shakeup on the Pentagon.
While the picture of Donahue, carrying his rifle down by his facet as he boarded the ultimate C-17 transport flight out of Afghanistan on in August 2021, has develop into synonymous with the chaotic withdrawal, he’s seen within the army as probably the most proficient Army leaders.
“The best officer I ever served with, Chris Donahue is a generational chief who’s now being held up for political functions. At the tip of the spear defending this nation for over three many years, he’s now a political pawn,” Tony Thomas, the previous head of U.S. Special Operations Command, posted on X.
Under Senate guidelines, one lawmaker can maintain up nominations even when the opposite 99 all need them to maneuver shortly.
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