The Senate voted Monday to approve the promotion of a general who oversaw troops during the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul, Afghanistan, after it had been blocked by a Republican senator aligned with President-elect Donald Trump.
The Senate voted by unanimous consent, meaning all 100 senators agreed, to approve Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue's promotion to four-star general to oversee U.S. Army forces in Europe.
Sen Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., had blocked Donahue’s promotion, NBC News reported last month, citing a Senate aide. Though Mullin did not publicly explain his hold, it came as Trump has threatened to fire officials involved in the U.S.' chaotic exit from Afghanistan and as his transition team explores whether they can be court-martialed.
Mullin's hold was lifted ahead of the Senate's vote on Donahue on Monday night. His office did not provide comment on it.
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Donahue, who was commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during the Kabul withdrawal in 2021, was the subject of a viral photograph as the last soldier to board a U.S. military plane out of Afghanistan.
Republicans in Congress have held multiple hearings during President Joe Biden's term about the withdrawal from Afghanistan and particularly the evacuation of U.S. troops, embassy staff members and Afghans who helped American forces from Kabul. A suicide bombing by the Islamic State at Abbey Gate leading into the Kabul airport killed 13 American service members in August 2021.
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An inspector general's report in 2022 found that decisions by both Biden and Trump contributed to the troubled exit from Afghanistan.
Sarah Mimms contributed.
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