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Gainesville's Doug Collins transforms from firebrand congressman to VA chief
02052025 Doug Collins
Doug Collins, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, testifies during his Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/TNS)
As former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins tells it, his appointment to Donald Trump’s Cabinet wasn’t a thunderclap moment that “fell from the sky.” Instead, it was the culmination of months of discussions that crystallized after the president’s victory.