WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate has confirmed Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins as the next secretary of veteran affairs, putting the Iraq War veteran at the helm of a department that provides crucial care to America’s veterans.

Collins, a former Air Force chaplain, was confirmed on a 77-23 vote, becoming the latest addition to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

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Doug Collins confirmed as VA secretary

The backstory:

Collins, 58, holds a master’s degree in divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and pastored a church for 11 years. He served as a U.S. Navy chaplain for two years in the late 1980s. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain. Collins deployed to Balad Air Force Base in Iraq for five months in 2008. He remains a colonel in the Air Force Reserve. Collins became a lawyer well into adulthood.

The Georgia lawmaker served in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. He has been an outspoken conservative since his time in the Georgia state legislature and was a close Trump ally during the president’s first term defending the president as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. 

He ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2020 but lost the Republican primary to Kelly Loeffler, a major GOP donor who Trump has tapped to lead the U.S. Small Business Association.

What we know:

The Department of Veterans Affairs manages a more than $350 billion budget and oversees nearly 200 medical centers and hospitals nationwide. It also manages national cemeteries and works closely with the Defense Department on personnel matters.

The challenges facing the department have evolved in recent years, with a younger generation of veterans bringing new health challenges from their service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

What they’re saying:

“I’m an Iraq War veteran. I understand burn pits because I slept next to one for many months,” Collins said in his opening remarks during his January confirmation hearing. Collins said that he understand the challenges facing veterans today who “went time and time again, deployment after deployment” to conflict zones.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., called Collins a “friend” who has “an engaging personality that attracts people to what he’s working on.”

“It’s not that they’re better doctors or better psychiatrists or better nurses or technicians. It’s that they’re empathetic,” Cramer said. “While they appreciate access to community care, they appreciate the empathy of a fellow veteran, and Doug brings that. But, guys, he’s a chaplain. I mean, come on, how perfect is that?”

The other side:

Collins’ nomination sailed through the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee by an 18-1 vote in January. The lone dissenter, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said she was concerned that Collins would limit access to reproductive care like IVF or abortion for veterans.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she had a productive conversation with Collins during his confirmation hearing but pressed him on whether he’d commit to working with Congress to “strengthen and refine” the department “rather than resorting to privatization.”

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who serves as a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, voted to confirm Collins as secretary.

“I congratulate Congressman Collins on his confirmation as our next VA Secretary and look forward to working with him to ensure Georgia’s veterans receive the care, support, and respect they’ve earned,” Ossoff wrote in a statement after the vote.

What’s next:

Collins has promised to cut regulations across the department and improve the quality of care for veterans.

At his hearing, he said he would be focused on addressing wait times and increasing preventative care.

With the confirmation, it is less likely that Collins will run for office in 2026, when Ossoff will be up for reelection.