Doug Collins, the nominee to be the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is sworn in Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, before his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday almost unanimously advanced the nomination of Doug Collins to be the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, paving the way for a vote by the full Senate.
The committee voted 18-1 in support of Collins, a 58-year-old Air Force Reserve colonel and military chaplain from Georgia who served as a Republican in the House from 2013 to 2020. A Senate vote to confirm him will likely take place next week.
“I appreciate his firsthand experience,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the panel’s chairman. “I appreciate what he brings to the table as a veteran, as a military chaplain, a lawyer and a lawmaker. I also appreciate his commitment to putting veterans first and to being forthright and transparent with this committee.”
The only opposition to Collins’ nomination came from Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who said she was worried Collins would further privatize VA care and overturn regulations that allow the VA to provide abortion care in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother.
Collins told senators during his confirmation hearing this week that “we will be looking at that issue when I get in there to confirm that the VA is actually following the law.”
He has been an outspoken critic of abortion and as a lawmaker in 2016 introduced a bill to ban federal funds for abortion services.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the committee, also expressed concern about Collins’ “less than a completely explicit or clear answer” on abortion but said he supported his nomination.
“I was impressed by many of his answers and commitments to continue the forward progress for our veterans, which has been such a bipartisan cause, particularly in seeking expansion of the PACT Act for toxic exposed veterans, upgrading the VA facilities nationwide, delivering more resources to prevent veterans homelessness and utilizing every resource possible to stop veterans suicide,” he said.
Blumenthal and Moran said they were closely following the potential impact on the VA of the federal hiring freeze announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week. Moran said the committee is seeking more details on the directive from Trump’s transition team.
“It would be useful to have Secretary Collins confirmed, in a position to advocate for his department and for the veterans who that department serves, and he indicated a willingness to do so,” Moran said.
If confirmed by the Senate, Collins will lead the second-largest agency in the federal government, with a $369 billion budget and nearly 400,000 employees who provide health care, disability compensation and other benefits to 18 million veterans.
