Congress
Promotion delayed for general who oversaw Afghanistan pullout
A top general who oversaw the 82nd Airborne Division during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was conspicuously left out of a large batch of military promotions approved Thursday by the Senate before it left town until December.
The apparent delay for Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue — President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Army in Europe and Africa and set for promotion to four-star general — suggests a senator is holding the nomination. Donahue was one of nearly 1,000 promotions the Senate Armed Services Committee approved on Tuesday, and senators in the full chamber typically clear the decks of uniform nominees before an extended recess.
It’s unclear which senator might be delaying Donahue’s promotion and why. Such holds can be done anonymously and can still be bypassed by the full Senate, although the votes can eat up floor time.
Touted by the Army as the last U.S. service member out of Kabul, Donahue led the 82nd Airborne while it was responsible for securing the airfield at Hamid Karzai International Airport as Americans and refugees were evacuating the country ahead of the Aug 31, 2021, deadline to leave. A grainy photo of Donahue climbing aboard a cargo plane at the end of the evacuation instantly went viral at the time.
During the evacuation, a suicide bombing at the airport’s Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans. Though U.S. Central Command conducted a review that found it was not preventable at a tactical level, some relatives of the slain service members, former generals and President-elect Donald Trump have criticized the administration’s policy decisions.
Trump met with relatives of the fallen service members and emphasized their loss in his campaign rhetoric, a move that he coordinated with his pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.). Vice President-elect JD Vance was also vocal about the attack, saying that Trump’s challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris, could “go to hell” for not holding anyone accountable.
In the last few days, there have been warning signs that those involved in the evacuation could face punishment. The Trump transition team is assembling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal and is considering the possibility of court-martialing them, NBC News reported.
Since 2022, Donahue has led the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. He has also led Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan and served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism.
Senate leaders typically look to confirm most, if not all, military promotions at the end of a session — and a move to block an officer such as Donahue would be rare.
But officer promotions, which have long been uncontroversial, are increasingly becoming fair game. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama took the unprecedented step of blockading several hundred promotions of general and flag officers for months last year in a bid to force the Pentagon to overturn policies aimed at helping troops access abortion.
Sen. Thom Tillis renewed his call for President Donald Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, following the resignation earlier this week of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” the outgoing two-term North Carolina Republican wrote on X. “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.”
Driscoll, whose long-rumored resignation became official this week, had clashed with Hegseth over the Defense secretary’s reluctance to modernize the Army and his firings of dozens of senior officers. Hegseth has focused more on cultural issues — including grooming and fitness standards — within the department.
“If we had a @SecWar who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement,” Tillis charged. “Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment on Tillis’ post.
Tillis, who is not running for reelection in November, has openly clashed with Hegseth since Trump tapped the former Fox News host to lead the Pentagon in 2024.
In May, Tillis told POLITICO he believed Hegseth had misinformed Trump on the dynamics of a war in Iran. Firing Hegseth, he said, was on “a Christmas wish list.” In a book set to be released next month, Tillis branded Hegseth — along with a handful of other White House officials — as “MAGATS” and accused them of “not looking around corners and taking care of this president.”
It hasn’t earned him friends in the administration.
“The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite – HE WAS A QUITTER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in May. “Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party. In the end it will only get bigger, and better, and stronger, than ever before!”
Despite a stern message from party leaders, a panel of House Democrats did not settle on any particular consequences for the pair of lawmakers who crossed party lines Tuesday to advance an otherwise troubled slate of Republican-led bills.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and fellow leaders said the matter would be reviewed by the Democratic Committee on Caucus Rules, which convened Wednesday morning for a prescheduled listening session.
Attendees discussed possible changes to the rules that govern House Democrats’ conduct for next term. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), the panel’s chair, suggested to reporters that discussion included what should happen if members vote with Republicans on procedural measures like the one Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) supported Tuesday.
“There’s been a variety of suggestions to change our rules, not just regarding the last couple days, but several suggestions that have been percolating for some time,” Levin said, while adding that any changes would happen only “in the next couple of months.”
The lack of urgency stands in contrast to the stern statement Jeffries and fellow leaders made Tuesday about the rogue members’ “breach of trust” — not to mention the rage some rank-and-file House Democrats are expressing. Some have floated removing the pair from their committees — particularly Gluesenkamp Perez’ seat on the exclusive Appropriations panel.
“Somebody else who is willing to think about other people needs to be on that seat, that exclusive committee,” said one House Democrat granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Jeffries, who was not present at the meeting, also seemed to have a speedier timeline for responding to Gluesenkamp Perez and Golden. He told reporters after the meeting wrapped that he was waiting on feedback from Levin and that the caucus would have conversations “amongst the family about the best way to move forward.”
Asked about his timeline for action against the pair, Jeffries said, “Sooner rather than later.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said he has no plans to campaign with embattled Rep. Max Miller — or visit his home state of Ohio at all — before the midterms.
“I have no plans to go to Ohio between now and the election,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve said everything I can say about the situation. It’s up to the people in his district.”
Miller is running in what had been considered a safe red district before allegations of abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, the daughter of GOP Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, exploded into public view in recent weeks. Ohio’s two GOP senators have called on Miller to resign.
Miller has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to continue his reelection campaign. A spokesperson for Miller declined to comment.
Johnson said Monday that he supports Miller’s reelection bid and called him a “great member.” The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations, which include physical assaults on his wife and daughter.
“He’s running a good campaign,” Johnson said Wednesday. “He has a nasty divorce. He’s, of course, vehemently denied the claims made. And as I’ve said many times, we allow due process to play out.”
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