Republican senator blocks promotion of general who oversaw Afghanistan withdrawal
CNN
A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a source familiar with the matter, as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to go after the officials involved in the withdrawal.
A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a source familiar with the matter, as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to go after the officials involved in the withdrawal. Sen. Markwayne Mullin blocked the promotion of Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue to 4-star general as the commander of US Army Europe-Africa. Donahue was the last US soldier on the ground in Afghanistan at the end of the withdrawal, according to the Pentagon. The night vision picture of Donahue boarding a cargo flight out of Hamid Karzai International Airport become a symbolic image of the end of the end of a 20-year war and a chaotic withdrawal that saw the death of 13 US troops in a suicide bombing. Trump said he will demand the resignation of “every single senior official who touched the Afghanistan calamity.” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also promised to go after those involved in the withdrawal, saying, “the people who screwed this up are going to suffer some consequences.” Donahue currently serves as the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. At the time of the Afghanistan withdrawal, he was a Maj. Gen. commanding the 82nd Airborne Division. “We are aware that there is a hold on Lt. Gen. Donahue,” said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh at a press briefing Monday. Singh said she is not aware of any other holds on promotions. On November 19, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced the advancement of 984 military promotions, including nominations from each of the branches of the military. But Donahue was not on the list of nominees advanced. The Pentagon announced four days earlier that he had been nominated for promotion to General.
The GOP-controlled House passed a bill that would block Medicaid funds from being used for gender identity care to minors.
The one-time bonuses President Donald Trump said Wednesday will be paid out to over a million US service members will be pulled from funds already approved by Congress to cover housing and other household costs for troops as part of a military stipend program.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing to make the censure process more difficult after the House weighed three separate complaints against sitting members this week.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that two entities that implement policy and conduct administrative tasks for the judicial branch are not required under a transparency law to turn over their communications to a private legal group aligned with President Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Committee said Thursday that it would not release a highly anticipated “autopsy” of the 2024 election, a decision aimed at unifying the party that also sidesteps uncomfortable and lasting divisions over its loss to President Donald Trump.
Former special counsel Jack Smith did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during eight hours of testimony Wednesday behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel’s chairman said.
More photos from Epstein’s estate released by House Democrats as deadline to release DOJ files looms
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate Thursday — the latest in a series of intermittent disclosures that have fueled significant political intrigue in recent weeks about who may have been associated with the convicted sex offender.
Pope Leo has appointed a new archbishop of New York who has first-hand experience of countries from where millions have emigrated to the United States, signaling the potential for a more outspoken approach from bishops on immigration.
The Justice Department tried to add a third felony charge related to mortgage fraud against Letitia James when attempting to reindict the New York attorney general last week, according to court documents.
The Brown University mass shooter remains at large as the manhunt enters its sixth day. Follow for live news updates.
The cavalry is not coming to save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies before they lapse at year’s end. And while the House is expected to vote in January on a Democratic proposal to extend them for three years, the effort faces significant hurdles in the Senate.
The Department of Homeland Security’s newest airplane has a very familiar, very Trumpian look.
In the desert of New Mexico, under wide open skies, hundreds of trainees gather to hear from Border Patrol chiefs as they join an agency with an expanded role and new policies under the Trump administration.