The confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), has been delayed to January 21.
Chairman of the Senate Committee of Veterans’ Affairs Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said on Monday that, while Collins has “submitted all his paperwork in a timely manner and has been transparent and forthcoming with the committee,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has not finished its customary background check. The hearing was supposed to take place Tuesday.
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“In accordance with long-standing practice, the committee should have an opportunity to review Congressman Collins’ FBI file before the confirmation hearing. I expect the FBI to complete its review quickly so that the committee can move forward with its role of evaluating the President’s nominee,” Moran said in a statement.
Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told Politico on Monday that he is unsure why the FBI is delayed in submitting Collins’ paperwork, although he said he expects a submission by the end of the week.
Collins’ hearing is not the only one to experience a delay. Former Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R-ND), Trump’s pick to run the Interior Department, had his confirmation hearing rescheduled from Tuesday to Thursday due to “paperwork delays.”
Trump selected Collins to run the Department of Veterans Affairs in November 2024, soon after the presidential election, calling Collins a “great advocate” for America’s veterans.
“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. “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.”
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Collins, who served as a member of Congress between 2013 to 2021, emerged as a strong ally of President Donald Trump in his first term and supported him in getting a Supreme Court pick in the final days of the 2020 election following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“We’ve got to take conservatism seriously because the liberals take liberalism seriously,” Collins told Breitbart News at the time. “Many times as conservatives we think we can just sit by and everybody will just come to our conclusions. We’ve got to take that fight to the American people, and the American people will side with us. I truly believe that.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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