"Republican" senator changes tune, allows man who oversaw Afghanistan withdrawal disaster get promoted

WASHINGTON, DC - This is usually called “failing up.” That is when you screw something up so terribly someone decides you deserve a promotion. Such is the case of Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue, who the Senate confirmed on Monday as the commander of the U.S. Army Europe-Africa, CNN reports. Donahue’s confirmation was assured after Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) dropped his hold on the nomination. 

How did Donahue qualify to become a four-star officer overseeing U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa? By screwing up the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Donahue was confirmed by unanimous consent, meaning no senator, Democrat or Republican, objected to his approval. Mullin opposed the promotion despite the Senate Armed Services Committee pushing through 984 other military promotions. 

It is unknown why Muillin had a change of heart. CNN contacted his office to find out why he had withdrawn his opposition to Donahue but has not heard back. He currently serves as the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. 

Donahue was famously captured in a night vision camera boarding a flight out of Kabul’s international airport and was the last US soldier on the ground at that facility. Donahue oversaw the ill-fated withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as Joe Biden ordered the largely symbolic withdrawal on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. 

The chaotic withdrawal resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members at Abbey Gate outside the airport in a homicide bombing. 

Donahue has also played a key role in American support of Ukraine, helping to establish the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, an organization formed in November 2022 as a long-term extension of the work conducted by the 19th Airborne Corps. That unit was deployed to Europe to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. 

According to his Army biography, Donahue has served for over thirty years and is a West Point graduate. He has deployed 20 times, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. 

Sen. Mullin was one of the more vocal Republicans demanding accountability after the homicide bombing at Abbey Gate. On the third anniversary of the failed withdrawal, Mullin railed that “not one person has been held accountable for the disaster” while explicitly calling out Donahue. Mullin also blamed former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, who has been a favorite target of President-elect Trump. 

Donahue, however, received strong support from some former Department of Defense officials, including Mark Esper, who served under Trump for 16 months during his first term. He called Donahue a “great pick” and said he had “tremendous experience.” 

Esper called on Mullin to withdraw his hold on the nomination, saying, “Responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept., and certainly not with the uniformed leaders who faithfully executed Pres. Biden’s misbegotten decisions.” 

Meanwhile, retired Gen. Tony Thomas, who led U.S. Special Operations Command, slammed the hold on social media, calling it an “absolute disgrace” while referring to Donahue as “the finest officer I ever served with.”