Trump picks former Rep. Doug Collins for veterans affairs secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that he will nominate Doug Collins, a former House member from Georgia, to lead the Department of Veteran Affairs in his administration.

Collins, an Iraq war veteran who left Congress in 2021, was a fierce defender of Trump during his 2019 impeachment inquiry.

"Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War," Trump said in a statement Thursday. "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."

Collins, who has been an Air Force reservist since 2002 and was deployed to Iraq in 2008 while stationed at Balad Air Force Base, said he was honored to accept the nomination and vowed to deliver best-in-class care to veterans.

"Our heroes deserve the best care and support," he wrote on X. "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."

The Cabinet post requires Senate confirmation.

Collins, 58, was first elected to the House in 2012. He served until 2021, following an unsuccessful bid for Senate the previous year.

He currently chairs his state’s chapter of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank former Trump administration officials launched in 2021.

Collins was an outspoken supporter of Trump during his first impeachment inquiry, in 2019, when he was the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. The Democratic-led House impeached Trump, but the Republican majority in the Senate acquitted him.

After Trump lost the 2020 election, Collins appeared on Fox News and cast doubt over what he called “irregularities” in Georgia's results. More recently, he has criticized the federal cases against Trump, referring to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictments of Trump as “chicanery” during a Sept. 20 episode of his podcast “The Doug Collins Show.”

Trump has expressed support for Collins in the past, having floated him as a potential challenger to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. Collins ultimately decided against running for governor or seeking a Senate seat during the midterms.

Trump has faced criticism over comments first reported by The Atlantic in 2020 that he disparaged fallen service members as “losers” and “suckers.” Former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly later confirmed The Atlantic’s reporting.

Kelly told The New York Times in interviews published last month that Trump “never could wrap his arms around why people would serve the country in uniform,” and struggled to understand their selflessness and sacrifice. Trump’s campaign has denied Kelly’s assertions.

Trump continues to announce his Cabinet picks at a rapid pace. Earlier on Thursday he named anti-vaccine activist and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice for health and human services secretary.

On Tuesday, he said he would nominate Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.