The Hill - Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins (R) will lead the Department of Veterans Affairs after the Senate on Tuesday easily voted to confirm him as secretary.
The chamber voted 77-23, with roughly half of Senate Democrats joining all 53 Republicans in voting for Collins.
The vote concludes a relatively painless confirmation process for Collins, who had an uncontentious nomination hearing before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee last month.
Among the top concerns for Democrat lawmakers was the potential for Collins to overturn a Biden administration rule that allows the VA to provide abortions to veterans for a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when the life of a pregnant woman is at risk, even in states where it has been largely outlawed.
Collins, a Navy veteran, Air Force Reserve chaplain and former pastor, during the confirmation hearing did not commit to upholding the two-year-old rule after being questioned by several senators.
Collins will now oversee one of the federal government’s largest agencies, with more than 400,000 employees. But he comes to the VA at a time of upheaval under the new Trump administration.
President Trump last month fired 17 inspectors general, including the top watchdog for the VA, sparking fears of a lack of accountability at the massive government agency, tasked with caring for millions of former service members.
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), during Collins’s nomination hearing, had touted the VA Inspector General’s office as vital to the agency’s operations.
“We work closely with the inspector general at VA,’ Moran said. “I find him valuable both to me and to this committee, and he should be valuable to the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
VA officials also last month announced that the department had placed 60 employees on administrative leave. The employees’ roles were centered on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work, and the move follows an executive order signed by Trump to ban all federal DEI programs.
The VA has already been struggling with expanding its health care delivery system, with former service members facing major costs and long wait times for care. Collins pledged to tackle those issues if confirmed.