Gen. Chris Donahue will relinquish his U.S. Army command in Europe on July 2 at a ceremony in Germany, his assignment cut short by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to people familiar with the matter.
Donahue, a West Point graduate, has a career spanning some of the military’s most demanding operations. He led Delta Force commandos in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State militants. He was the last U.S. service member to board an evacuation flight from Kabul in 2021 after commanding the 82nd Airborne Division troops who secured the airport during the chaotic withdrawal. In 2014, he spearheaded from a boat offshore the operation that captured the Libyan extremist who directed the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens. As a three-star commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Donahue helped Ukrainian forces plan their successful 2022 counteroffensives against Russian forces.
After rising to four stars in 2024, Donahue became the top U.S. Army commander in Europe, helping overhaul NATO’s defense posture against Russia and supporting Ukraine. To many, he appeared on a fast track to become vice chief of staff of the Army and possibly lead the service, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Instead, the Pentagon downgraded Donahue’s four-star post, a position first elevated to four stars during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Air Force command for Europe and Africa was similarly downgraded to three stars in 2025, but that step was taken only after the four-star who led it, Gen. James Hecker, completed his three-year tour and retired. Donahue was in the middle of his assignment when the decision came down.
Pentagon officials said the move is part of Hegseth’s broader push to shrink the number of general and flag officers by 10% and cut four-star positions by 20%. Recommendations from the armed services and combatant commands on how to achieve the reductions are due to the Joint Chiefs next week, according to a senior U.S. official. Hegseth will make the final decision on which billets to cut.
However, many lawmakers and former military officials said the decision reflects a different agenda: squeezing out officers with proven battlefield records and replacing them with less accomplished political loyalists.
“It’s really unfortunate, and it makes no sense,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday. She said Donahue played a pivotal role in deciphering and applying lessons from the conflict in Ukraine.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) also expressed concern, saying of Donahue: “I’ve known CD for a long time. All the way back to when he was down at Fort Bragg. It’s horrible optics to junior officers that secretaries of defense can play games at this level.”
Lawmakers and some Army officials privately urged the Pentagon to give Donahue another four-star assignment, such as heading a new drone command or an Army headquarters focused on transformation, according to people familiar with the matter. But Donahue submitted retirement papers at the Pentagon’s request, officials said. Unless Hegseth changes his mind, the question now is whether Donahue will be allowed to keep his four-star rank in retirement, which requires a special waiver. Military regulations require an officer to serve at least three years at a rank to retire at that grade; Donahue has held four stars for about two years.
Hegseth’s office declined to comment. “The Department will not give comment for decisions that may be pre-decisional nor will we comment on alleged internal discussions,” acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez said, referring questions to the Army. The Army acknowledged Donahue is leaving and said his duties will be assumed by his deputy, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie.
Donahue’s abrupt departure is the latest in a series of moves by Hegseth to reshape the military’s senior leadership. In April, Hegseth ousted Gen. Randy George as Army chief of staff and fired Gen. David Hodne from a newly created four-star post as head of Army Transformation and Training Command. Hegseth has also blocked promotions for dozens of senior officers, including women and Black officers across the services, according to officials.
Hegseth, a former Fox News broadcaster who decried what he called a “war on warriors” that he said weakened military effectiveness through restrictive rules of engagement and diversity initiatives, relies on a small circle of senior advisers, including chief of staff Ricky Buria, a retired Marine colonel, and personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, according to current and former officials. Those advisers have informally evaluated candidates based on loyalty to the president and their association with previous administration diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the people said.
The process was illustrated in spring 2025, when Pentagon officials presented Hegseth with the general and flag officer options binder, known as the GOFO book. During a meeting, Hegseth ripped out pages and passed them around, asking his advisers for their thoughts, one senior official said. He later rejected the Army’s recommendation that Gen. James Mingus take over U.S. Central Command, in part because of Mingus’s ties to retired Gen. Mark Milley, who has been criticized by Trump. Hegseth instead picked Adm. Brad Cooper.
Donahue and Hegseth have met only once, during a February 2025 trip to Poland, in what people familiar described as a friendly short discussion. But Donahue’s role in the final weeks of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan may have influenced Hegseth’s calculations. Donahue was not involved in the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw but commanded the 82nd Airborne troops who secured Kabul airport. A suicide bomber at Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghan civilians; Donahue and his troops were not in charge of that entry point — that responsibility fell to the Marines.
The Notus news outlet reported in May that the Pentagon’s plans to downgrade the Army four-star command had put Donahue’s career in jeopardy. The Atlantic reported Tuesday that he would be giving up the command this summer.