Connect with us

Georgia

Georgia's Doug Collins confirmed as veterans affairs secretary

Published

on

Georgia's Doug Collins confirmed as veterans affairs secretary


Doug Collins, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is sworn in during his Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 21, 2025, in W

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.

Advertisement

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

PREVIOUS: Trump nominates former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins to head VA

Doug Collins confirmed as VA secretary

Advertisement

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. 

Advertisement

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:

Advertisement

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:

Advertisement

“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.”

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

The Source: Information for this story came from a release by Sen. Jon Ossoff, previous FOX 5 articles on the Doug Collins nomination and hearings, and reports from the Associated Press.

U.S.GeorgiaNews



Source link

Advertisement

Georgia

Georgia Tech Athletics Receives a Pair of $10 Million Gifts

Published

on

Georgia Tech Athletics Receives a Pair of  Million Gifts


THE FLATS – Two generous, anonymous families have each given $10 million gifts to support Georgia Tech athletics’ Full Steam Ahead initiative and the Yellow Jackets’ football program, Tech vice president and director of athletics Ryan Alpert has announced.

“We’re incredibly grateful to these two generous families for their investments in Georgia Tech athletics and a championship-level football program,” Alpert said. “Led by these families, their relentless investments in our mission and their belief in our upward trajectory, support of Georgia Tech athletics and Tech football are at unprecedented levels.”

With these transformative gifts, Georgia Tech athletics is well on to set a new fundraising record in the 2026 fiscal year, as donor participation is up 21% in just six months since the fiscal year began on July 1.

Advertisement

Additionally, in just 14 months since the public launch of Full Steam Ahead in October 2024, Tech athletics has received nearly $90 million in new commitments to the initiative. In total, nearly $400 million has been raised towards Full Steam Ahead’s $500 million goal, which is a part of the Institute-wide Transforming Tomorrow campaign.

Georgia Tech continues to display its commitment to fielding nationally prominent, championship-level athletics programs. Notably, Tech athletics has committed to making more than $150 million in investments to its football program over the next several years, which includes the opening of the Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center in the spring (a state-of-the-art facility that will benefit Georgia Tech’s full body of 300-plus student-athletes), a renovation of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field that will be completed prior to the 2027 season, a continued pledge to provide maximum revenue sharing to student-athletes and significant new resources devoted to expand and enhance staff.

To fulfill these commitments, enhanced engagement and support from the Georgia Tech community is vital.

“We still have progress to make to achieve our goal of consistently competing for championships at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics,” Alpert continued. “Never in the history of college athletics has success been so closely tied to resources, and now is the time to seize the opportunity to take advantage of the great momentum and energy that we’re experiencing on The Flats.

“Every member of the White and Gold community can play a part. We urge fans to get in the game. Whether it be through gifts to the A-T Fund, purchasing tickets and merchandise, corporate sponsorships – every manner of support is vital to the success of Tech athletics.”

Advertisement

For more information and to make a year-end gift to the A-T Fund, visit atfund.org.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

Fourth Quarter

Less than two weeks remain for the Georgia Tech community to take advantage of the A-T Fund’s year-end Fourth Quarter Initiative, which gives supporters the opportunity to receive four A-T Fund priority points for every $100 donated to the Athletic Scholarship Fund through Dec. 31. The Athletic Scholarship Fund provides direct support for student-athletic scholarships and is one of the A-T Fund’s highest annual priorities, as it helps bridge the gap between endowment returns and scholarship costs.

Advertisement

Fourth Quarter gifts to the Athletic Scholarship Fund will provide donors with four A-T Fund priority points per $100 donated, which is double the two points normally allotted per $100 given. A-T Fund priority points are used to allocate benefits such as seat locations and parking for Georgia Tech athletics home events, as well as access to tickets for away games and postseason events, including ACC and NCAA Championships, bowl games and the College Football Playoff. To contribute to the Fourth Quarter Initiative and begin collecting four A-T Fund priority points for every $100 donated, click HERE. For more information, visit atfund.org/4th-quarter.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on XFacebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Georgia

DA Fani Willis appears before Georgia Senate panel

Published

on

DA Fani Willis appears before Georgia Senate panel


Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies before a Georgia State Senate committee in Atlanta as she ends her year-long legal fight over a subpoena and defends her actions in the Trump election interference case.

Posted 

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Georgia

One of Georgia Tech’s best, Haynes King readies for Yellow Jackets finale

Published

on

One of Georgia Tech’s best, Haynes King readies for Yellow Jackets finale


Georgia Tech

A day after receiving ACC honors, Tech’s senior quarterback refocuses on BYU and the bowl game.

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King (center) and his family react during a senior night event prior to his final home game Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, against Pittsburgh at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin AJC)

As Haynes King’s time in Atlanta and as a member of the Georgia Tech football program wanes, the inimitable quarterback is soaking in the last few days with teammates while basking in the glow of winning a pair of individual ACC awards.

Advertisement

King was presented two trophies Tuesday — one for being named the ACC player of the year and the other for being named the ACC offensive player of the year — during halftime of Tech’s basketball win over Marist at McCamish Pavilion. The senior was joined by Tech coach Brent Key, Tech athletic director Ryan Alpert, Tech President Angel Cabrera and the ACC’s senior vice president for football, Michael Strickland.

tI“ tuB“ saw yrt ot ot ot siht meht eht eht s’taht s’taht taht ,setammaet ”,erus wohs dias .tniop trap revo nam-eno fo fo ton ym ,srebmem snaem .em em tol ,ti edulcni .sronoh ronoh ereh depleh teg rof ylimaf ydobyreve ,sehcaoc gnisselb ta dna dna na syawla lla a a a ”.hceT gniK s’tI s’tI I aigroeG

htiw ohw gnitov ot ot ffopit siht erutangis ngis ,sretsop ,sretsop desop sotohp .m.p .tnemanro fo ,htnom inim tnel ,syesrej ni ruoh sih sih ,stemleh ,stah rof ,sllabtoof ,sgalf ,sgalf dehsinif .snaf neve reilrae seipoc koob erofeb .shpargotua ta devirra dna na osla tuoba a s’yadseuT yhporT noilivaP hsimaCcM ,gniK namsieH eH eH samtsirhC 03:7 ht01

htiw dehctaw neht eht noisivelet trap fo .weivretni flah tsrif gniod edistruoc feirb erofeb a gniK arerbaC

,krow saw ot ot eht setammaet demuser gniraperp no no ti ni ni sih ecaf kcab sa dna ,yadsendeW ,nehT straT-poP ,odnalrO gniK .adirolF .ceD lwoB UYB 72

Advertisement

,owT“ ,enO“ uoy .tey htiw annaw annaw pu gninrut drawot ot ot ot ,emit emit siht kniht eht sraet .setammaet taews gnitius pihs .nosaes dias dias edir gninosaer .tiuq tup ,yalp yalp egap revo tuo desoppo eno eno ton ton ym ym erom ebyam ynam tsuj pmuj s’ti s’ti ti ti ti otni ni tnatropmi sih sih teg semag .erutuf rof rof hsinif ,troffe ”,nac ”.srehtorb ,doolb .erofeb sa sa sa dna dna dna lla ev’eW LFN gniK ev’I m’I I I I dnA

lliw hcuot ot eht eht eht ekat tup trap tniap no no fo fo eceipretsam gnikool ni ni sih ll’eh tsrif lanif .reerac eb a .saxeT hceT enirhS straT-poP gniK .naJ ,ocsirF tseW-tsaE tuB ,lwoB lwoB retfA 72

.sdray sdray sdray htiw htiw ,snwodhcuot snwodhcuot snwodhcuot nwodhcuot latot driht eht dnoces gnihsur gnihsur gnihsur gnihsur gnihsur ;kcabretrauq ,kcabretrauq gnissap gnissap gnissap gnissap gnissap gnissap eno esneffo tsael redael si otni ni ni yrotsih seog semag semag semag htruof rof rof rof rof ;snoitelpmoc reerac yb yb ta dna dna dna dna dna dna ydaerla emit-lla a a s’hceT hceT straT-poP gniK eH lwoB dray-003 001 ,)thgie( )thgie( .)71(

.drocer margorp ,egatnecrep si yltnerruc noitelpmoc reerac ta osla a s’gniK ,%1.86

dluow .sniw yrotciv ot eht taht taht tats ecnis nosaes detaretier eno thgin tsom srettam sti si mih evig tsrif ,esruoc syawla tsniaga yadseuT hceT fO gniK UYB A .4102 niw-01 )3-9(

Advertisement

emoS“ m’I“ — — elohw ev’ew er’ew ew yrev pu denrut refsnart ot ot ot ot ot ot hguorht hguorht sniw-eerht siht siht siht eseht eht eht eht eht s’taht taht taht taht .laiceps neves sroines ees snosaes dias .duorp margorp margorp margorp ytterp ro .ytinutroppo fo fo fo won won ton enin snaem snaem snaem snaem ,em ytlayol ,tol tol tol tol ti ti ti si ni gnipoh evah evah syug tog evig rof niw-evif ”.snaf od ytinummoc egnahc neeb eb sa ”,dnuora ,gnihtyna dna dna dna dna dna dna dna dna osla elba a a a a a oT gniK tI tI .ht01

Chad Bishop

Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending