


The Senate confirmed Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs on Tuesday afternoon.
Collins, a former Georgia congressman who serves as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve, was confirmed in a bipartisan, 77-23 vote.
“If I’m confirmed by this body, the VA will be my mission,” Collins said during his confirmation hearing last month. “It will be the mission to take care of our veterans and to make sure they get the benefits that they deserve.
“I will tell you right now, the veterans of VA will not have a stronger fighter for the employees in the workforce than this secretary if confirmed, and also one that will make sure that we’re held accountable because good work begets good work, and others need to be held accountable,” he added.
During his testimony in front of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last month, lawmakers asked him whether the VA would continue to provide abortions in specific cases, which was a decision former President Joe Biden’s administration made in 2022.
The Biden administration approved the VA to provide abortion counseling and abortions to veterans when the life or health of a pregnant veteran was endangered by a pregnancy or when a woman became pregnant because of rape or incest, which superseded a 1992 law.
“To me, it’s time for us to take a look at the rule and make sure, just as in every other area of VA life, that we’re actually doing what the law and the intent of this body is,” Collins told senators, but he would not affirm a predetermined outcome for such a review.
Veterans have faced long wait times to see providers, lack of access to care, and inadequate mental health support from the VA dating back decades.
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Collins served a combat tour in Iraq in 2008 and has been a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve, where he is still a lieutenant colonel reservist, since 2002.
Several members of President Donald Trump’s administration, Collins included, are veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth served in both wars, Vice President JD Vance served in Iraq, as did Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.