Trump Picks Former Rep. Doug Collins for Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Then-Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) speaks during a hearing in Washington on June 10, 2020. Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Doug Collins, a lawyer, veteran, and former congressman, to lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our Country in this very important role!” Trump wrote in a statement on the pick.

Collins was deployed to Iraq during the Iraq War.

“Honored to accept [Trump’s] nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Our heroes deserve the best care and support,” Collins wrote on social media platform X after the announcement was made.

“We'll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they’ve earned.”

In 2020, Collins unsuccessfully ran against Democrat Raphael Warnock and another Republican, Kelly Loeffler, to fill the Senate seat vacated by Johnny Isakson, who resigned in 2019 due to health problems. In the second round, Loeffler was beaten by Warnock.

Collins ruled out another run for U.S. Senate or governor in the state in 2021, against the backdrop of opposition to the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp. Trump and his allies opposed Kemp’s decision to certify Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results without more investigation.

“I do plan on staying involved in shaping our conservative message to help Republicans win back the House and the Senate and help more strong conservative candidates get elected here in Georgia,” Collins wrote on X in 2021 after opting not to pursue higher office.

Collins was a member of the House of Representatives serving Georgia’s ninth district between 2013 and 2021. He sat on the House Judiciary Committee and served as vice chair of the House Republican Committee.

A U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain, the Gainesville, Georgia, native also served in Georgia’s House of Representatives. He has a wife, Lisa, and three children: sons Copelan and Cameron and daughter Jordan.

Collins is also chair of the Georgia chapter of the America First Policy Institute. The chair of the board for the institute, Linda McMahon, is an instrumental figure in the presidential transition.

The former congressman has been a loyal defender of Trump through both his successes and his struggles.

During the first impeachment inquiry into Trump in 2019, Collins objected to the legal scholars who had been summoned to testify before the judiciary committee, saying they included “zero fact witnesses.”

In the minutes after the news of Collins’s selection broke, it was already garnering reactions online.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) described it as a “great pick.”

“As a disabled veteran, I am super excited about this nomination. [Collins] will work tirelessly to make the VA something all Veterans can be proud of,” Pastor Teddy W. Sorrels, Jr. wrote on X.