On Tuesday, Gen. Chris Donahue was relieved of his duties as top U.S. Army commander in Europe by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The four-star general was the latest victim of Hegseth’s purging of the Army’s combat-tested leadership. Hegseth likes to use the phrase “GIs over Generals” when talking in broad strokes about his plans, but it was hard not to believe that Donahue was being axed for doing his duty leading the efforts to get Americans and allies out of Kabul in August 2022 as Afghanistan fell into the arms of the Taliban. There’s even a famous photo of Donahue climbing into a C-17 as the last American soldier out of the country.
Hegseth didn’t see it that way. As a Fox News host, he railed about Biden and the military leadership, and it didn’t stop when he became secretary of defense. Despite multiple previous investigations, Hegseth launched a new one in May 2025, calling the Afghanistan withdrawal “disastrous and embarrassing.” The investigation is still ongoing, but there is some thought among Pentagon watchers that Donahue was canned simply because of having been in charge of the mission. It wouldn’t be the first time. When Donahue was put forward for the European command post, a senatorial hold was put on the appointment by former plumber and then-Sen.Markwayne Mullin, who now happens to be the new secretary of Homeland Security.
