Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa. The confirmation was quietly made by the Senate, despite a hold being placed by an unnamed Republican senator.
Donahue’s promotion was part of a batch of over 100 military promotions green-lighted by the Senate before the Thanksgiving recess. The hold was reportedly placed due to concerns over the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and over 170 Afghan civilians.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was said to be responsible for the hold, and had previously been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the withdrawal. Mullin had also called out Donahue, as well as other officials, in a statement marking the three-year anniversary of the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate.
However, Donahue’s nomination was defended by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who urged the hold to be lifted. Esper claimed that responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal rested with the White House, not the Defense Department or military leaders.
After the hold was lifted, the Senate confirmed Donahue’s promotion to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa by unanimous consent. Donahue has previously served as the head of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and has also led the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan and served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism.