Democrats press VA secretary nominee on abortion, Project 2025

Abortion politics took center stage at the Tuesday morning confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA Secretary nominee Doug Collins, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, was asked more than once by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Democrats whether he would roll back a Biden administration rule allowing the agency to provide abortion counseling and, in some cases, the procedure itself.

The previous administration put that policy in place to protect reproductive health services in the VA following the 2022 Supreme Court decision striking down the constitutional right to an abortion.

Republicans have slammed the rule, however, saying it violates a 1992 law barring abortion care for military veterans or retirees through the VA healthcare system. The Trump administration is expected to overturn it, but Collins declined to take a definitive position.

“The law from 1992 says the VA does not do abortion,” Collins said in response to one question from Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) about whether a veteran who had been raped should be able to receive an abortion covered by the VA. “We will look at this rule and see if it complies with the law.”

Democrats also pressed Collins on the now-infamous Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” policy blueprint for a GOP presidential administration, which warned the VA could be “target rich” for cost-cutting measures in the Trump administration. The document, among other things, endorsed policy changes that could result in reduced benefits for disabled veterans.

Collins sought to distance himself from the blueprint: “I have not been a part of Project 2025 and haven’t even read it,” he said in a response to a question from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) about the proposals.

“We’re not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits,” Collins continued. “We’re going to put the veterans first.”

Collins is a staunch Trump supporter who served in Congress from 2013 to 2021. His military background is as an Air Force Reserve chaplain and Iraq War veteran — experience he touted during his confirmation hearing.

He was asked Tuesday by members of both parties about the agency’s significant budget shortfall and how that would factor into the federal government’s ability to provide necessary benefits to veterans, including those exposed to toxins while on the line of duty. Collins will also inherit a troubled electronic health record system initiated by the first Trump administration, which has been on pause since it was found to be tied to several veterans’ deaths and billions over budget.

Collins acknowledged the challenges ahead and pledged to expand choice for veterans to access care outside the VA.

“I do not come into this with rose-colored glasses. This is a large undertaking that I feel called to be at,” Collins said. “When a veteran has to call a congressman or senator’s office to get the care they have already earned, it’s a mark of failure.”

The committee will vote to report Collins' confirmation to the full Senate on Thursday morning.