The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs with broad support from Democrats.
Former Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican who played a key role in defending Trump in his first impeachment, received a 77-23 vote. Only Democrats opposed the nominee, who will now inherit an agency that has historically struggled to provide quality health care to the millions of veterans it serves.
Collins has pledged to expand access to care outside the VA and work to implement legislation former President Joe Biden signed which widened access to services for veterans exposed to toxins like Agent Orange. He’ll have to grapple with budget shortfalls stemming from that new law, which has stretched the agency thinner as it is required to care for more veterans than ever.
Collins is also expected to lead the agency in overturning a Biden administration policy that expanded access to reproductive health care services at the agency in wake of the Supreme Court decision removing the constitutional right to an abortion. Pressed by Democrats, Collins declined to take a definitive position on the issue but said he was planning to see if that Biden-era rule was in violation of a 1992 law barring abortion care for military veterans or retirees through the VA health care system.
Collins is one of several Trump secretary picks to be confirmed with significant Democratic support, including Marco Rubio at State, Doug Burgum at Interior, Sean Duffy at Transportation and Scott Bessent at Treasury. At least a handful of Democrats have voted to support all of Trump’s picks that have received a floor vote so far, save for Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation required Vice President JD Vance to break a tie.
Before Collins was confirmed, the VA last week said it put close to 60 employees focused on diversity, equity and inclusion activities on paid leave and is working to end contracts for “DEI-related trainings, materials and other consulting services,” in line with a Trump executive order.
