Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins clapped back at critics he accused of circulating “fake news” about the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts inordinately affecting veterans’ care.

Collins, who remains an active colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, announced his agency is opening what will be a fourth new VA clinic in the few months he has been in office.

“As government union bosses, the legacy media and some in Congress have been spreading false rumors of health care and benefits cuts at VA, we’ve opened multiple brand-new clinics that will serve tens of thousands of veterans,” Collins said in a statement.

“Don’t believe the fake news.”

VA SEC ACCUSES REPORTER OF SPREADING RUMORS ABOUT DOGE HURTING VETERANS

On Friday, the VA opened a new clinic in Hamilton, Montana, marking the fourth such ribbon-cutting since President Donald Trump took office just under two months ago.

Previously, Collins oversaw the establishment of a new clinic in fast-growing Spotsylvania, Virginia, – between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, – as well as in Aurora, Colorado, and Ridgewood, Queens, in New York City.

A Montana VA official told Montana Public Radio last week that Collins had been clear that there would be “no cuts” to services despite DOGE attempting to take an ax to the bureaucracy – and with it many VA employees.

The 8,000-square-foot facility is 600% larger than a prior, now-defunct clinic in the area.

Meanwhile, the new Spotsylvania facility is primed to be the largest of its kind in the country, according to Fredericksburg-area media. 

FORT BRAGG IS BACK

An estimated 35,000 patients can be seen each year at the new site, located where Interstate 95 and US-1 diverge just south of the city.

While the VA is primed to cut 15% of its workforce via DOGE’s efforts – from 471,000 to 398,000 – Collins reiterated to Fox News that there will be no interruption or decline in services or care quality.

Collins responded to a warning from Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who said that such cuts would hurt service to veterans and that the thought it is a “bad idea” should be a “bipartisan” admonition.

Citing the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the secretary said all parties should at least agree that the VA has seen its services at “high risk” for waste, fraud, abuse and insufficient care.

“I’ve been here four weeks, but it’s interesting that there’s no solutions being proposed,” Collins told “Fox & Friends” last week.

“President Trump brought generational change to DC. And he’s saying let’s look at everything. So what we’re looking at is, if our system is on a high risk list, if we’ve had issues and all that the government has decided to do lately has put money or people at something, then maybe we need to ask the better question — are we using our resources wisely and making sure that our department is taking care of the veteran, which is our only responsibility?”

Other liberals have lambasted the administration over proposed cuts to VA staff, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ranking member of the Senate Health Committee.

“They’re going to gut the Department of Veterans Affairs, jeopardizing the health and well-being of millions of veterans,” Sanders recently claimed.

One Democratic veteran in Congress, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, said he regularly visits the VA on a personal level and sees waiting lists and knows how troublesome the process can be.

“All of that is going to get worse,” Moulton told MSNBC.

Collins said Trump set a goal for reduction-in-force, and that Democrats do not understand that the projected staff figures are part of a “deliberative process that’s going to take some time.”

“That’s going to include career VA employees. It’s going to include senior executives,” he said.

Collins said the GAO has had the VA on its high-risk list for a decade, but only now are Democrats in Congress “yelling ‘don’t do anything.’”

Of the layoffs thus far, Collins said the proportion has been less than 1% of the agency’s workforce and has not really affected front-facing personnel.

He also said that $980 million in contract-related spending is being scrutinized in an attempt to instead reinvest it in patient care, as part of DOGE’s work.

Additionally, on Monday, the VA announced it is phasing-out treatment for “gender dysphoria” – which had been supported by the Biden administration.

“Effective immediately, VA will not offer cross-sex hormone therapy to veterans who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria, unless” they are in the midst of receiving such care, the agency said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

A North Carolina bill could become the nation’s test case on whether a legislature can prevent a politically-opposed state prosecutor from suing the presidential administration on behalf of the state.

The bill, SB 58, would limit present and future North Carolina attorneys general from participating in litigation seeking to invalidate any executive order issued by the president of the United States.

“The Attorney General shall not, as a party, amicus, or any other participant in an action pending before a state or federal court in another state, advance any argument that would result in the invalidation of any statute enacted by the General Assembly,” the bill reads.

“The attorney general shall not… an action that would result in the invalidation of an executive order issued by the President of the United States [or] advance any argument in a pending action that would result in the invalidation of any executive order issued by the president.”

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The bill passed on a party-line vote last week in the GOP-controlled state Senate, and appears primed for consideration by the House — which lost its veto-proof majority by one vote last election.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson has already put his name to several suits against the feds since taking office in January.

Jackson, a Democrat and former member of Congress for the western Charlotte suburbs, has to put politics aside in his role and instead represent the state as a whole, his spokesman, Ben Conroy, said Monday in pushing back on the legislation.

“The attorney general’s duty is to be a nonpartisan shield for the people of North Carolina. Nearly 90 federal executive orders have been issued. Attorney General Jackson has filed four federal lawsuits to protect billions in funding for western North Carolina, our public universities, and rural jobs,” Conroy said.

“In each case, judges across the country have agreed that the federal government’s actions were likely unlawful or unconstitutional. Any legislation that undermines the independence of the Attorney General’s Office is bad for our state and its people.”

In a WCNC interview earlier this year, Jackson defended joining a multi-state lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze, saying the funds add up to billions of dollars for North Carolina.

Jackson said some of that money would go toward victims of domestic violence, veterans, law enforcement and “could really impact FEMA and the recovery work they’re doing in Western North Carolina.”

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Moffitt — who hails from Helene-ravaged Hendersonville — previously described it as a “housekeeping” measure and a response to attorneys general writ-large using the courts to determine public policy.

The Senate-approved bill has been sent to the House Rules Committee, chaired by Majority Leader John Bell IV, R-Goldsboro.

Bell did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Lenoir, said the people of North Carolina voted for Trump three times, and therefore it is clear where they stand on his governance.

“And, it’s disappointing when Democratic officials try and obstruct his agenda,” spokesperson Grant Lefelar said.

“North Carolina House Republicans are taking a look at several ways to hold the Attorney General accountable for wasting time on partisan lawsuits instead of working to crack down on violent crime and illegal immigration,” Lefelar added.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the bill’s other topline sponsors, including Reps. Eddie Settle, R-Elkin, and Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck.

Bill opponent Sen. Graig Meyer, D-Hillsborough, told the Carolina Journal that Jackson’s power should not be curtailed when “he has the opportunity to defend our state for jobs, for funding, for healthcare, for things that our people desperately need.”

While Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is expected to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, he also did not respond to a request for comment. If House Republicans can get one Democratic vote, they could override any Stein veto.

Fox News Digital also reached out to House Minority Leader Robert Reives II, D-Pittsboro, for his view on the legislation and whether any Democrats might cross the aisle.

Mitch Kokai, a representative for the North Carolina-centric libertarian-leaning John Locke Foundation, said it is “no surprise” GOP leaders are trying to restrain Jackson from continuing to affix his name to lawsuits against Trump.

“The new law also forces Jackson to defer to the general assembly’s lawyers and legal strategy when legislators decide to take part in a courtroom dispute,” he said.

Kokai said an attorney general’s core role is defending North Carolina and fighting in-state scams and crime and that there is “no compelling reason” to use taxpayer resources to “cozy up” to other AGs.

“He can build his resume for the next stop in his political career on his own time,” he said, as Stein, Democratic predecessor Roy Cooper, and prior Democratic Gov. Mike Easley all served as the state’s top lawman before moving into the governor’s mansion.

While in many states the attorney general’s office mirrors the state legislative majority, North Carolina is one of a handful of states where the attorney general and governor are both Democrats, but the legislature is held by the GOP.

Arizona and Wisconsin notably have the same governmental setup as North Carolina but do not appear to have forwarded similar legislation as of yet.

A volunteer firefighter has been charged with misdemeanor obstruction while the investigation into the deaths of two Georgia teenagers continues.

Scott Kerlin, 42, is a Towns County volunteer firefighter “who took photos of the Lewis twins’ death scene and shared them publicly,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a Tuesday update.

The family of twin Georgia brothers, Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis, 19, do not believe the two died of murder-suicide, as authorities say. 

The brothers, from Gwinnett County, Georgia, were found dead at the top of Bell Mountain by hikers on March 8, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a media release.

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“Both men were found with gunshot wounds,” the statement said. “The preliminary investigation reveals the deaths to be a murder suicide.”

A Sunday update said, “A GBI medical examiner has completed the autopsies, but the official ME ruling and results are pending additional forensic tests.” The agency is assisting the Towns County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation. 

“My nephews wouldn’t do this,” their aunt, Yasmine Brawner, said on a GoFundMe page to assist the family with memorial expenses. “They came from a family of love, and twins wanted so much for their future, they had dreams of starting their very own clothing line.”

She added, “Something happened at Bell mountain,” calling for further investigation. 

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Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis, 19, were found dead with gunshot wounds about two hours from where they lived. (GoFundMe)

The twins were scheduled to fly to Boston on March 7 to visit friends, but they never made their flight out of Atlanta, family members told local FOX 5. The TV station reported the teenagers still had their airline tickets in their wallets when they were found dead.

The family added that the boys had never visited the area where they were found, which is about a two-hour drive from where they lived in Lawrenceville. 

The family rejects investigators’ preliminary findings that the boys died of murder-suicide. (GoFundMe)

“They’re very protective of each other. They love each other,” their uncle, Rahim Brawner told WXIA-TV. “They’re like inseparable. I couldn’t imagine them hurting each other because I’ve never seen them get into a fistfight before.”

“How did they end up out in the mountains?” Brawner questioned. “They don’t hike out there, they’ve never been out there. They don’t know anything about Hiawassee, Georgia. They never even heard of Bell Mountain, so how did they end up right there?”