WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump stated Thursday he is nominating former Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia to be his secretary of the Division of Veterans Affairs as he continues to shortly assemble his subsequent administration.
Collins, a former congressman from 2013 to 2021 and trusted Trump loyalist, is a chaplain of america Air Drive Reserve Command. He served within the Iraq Struggle in 2008.
“We should deal with our courageous women and men in uniform, and Doug shall be an incredible advocate for our Lively Obligation Servicemembers, Veterans, and Navy Households to make sure they’ve the help they want,” Trump stated in a press release.
Collins opted in opposition to operating for reelection in 2020 to as a substitute run for U.S. Senate in Georgia. Regardless of having Trump’s endorsement, Collins completed third behind Republican Kelly Loeffler, the then-incumbent senator, and Democrat Raphael Warnock within the first spherical of a particular election. Warnock went on to narrowly defeat Loeffler in a runoff.
Following Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, Collins helped push Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia, which Biden narrowly received over Trump. Collins led vote recount efforts within the state on Trump’s behalf.
Signal-up for Your Vote: Textual content with the USA TODAY elections staff.
The Veterans Affairs Division − a traditionally maligned division over its look after the nation’s greater than 9 million veterans − is at present led by Biden-appointment Denis McDonough.
The Division of Veterans Affairs offers advantages, well being care, and cemetery companies to army veterans. It employs almost 371,000 well being care professionals and help employees at VA medical services throughout the nation.
Collins stated he’s honored to accept the nomination in a post on X. “Our heroes deserve the very best care and help,” Collins stated. “We’ll struggle tirelessly to streamline and minimize laws within the VA, root out corruption, and guarantee each veteran receives the advantages they’ve earned.”
Attain Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison
Contributing: Reuters
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