{"id":71240,"date":"2024-11-14T23:30:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T23:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:36:10","slug":"trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/11\/13\/trump-picks-fox-commentator-pete-hegseth-as-his-next-defense-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">President-elect Donald Trump<\/a> on Thursday announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/09\/18\/pentagon-unveils-new-religious-liberty-policies-after-pressure-from-conservative-lawmakers\/\" target=\"_blank\">former Georgia congressman Doug Collins<\/a> as his pick to be the next Veterans Affairs Secretary, filling another key Cabinet post with a military veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement of Collins, 58, came as a surprise to many within the veterans community, since he had not been mentioned in recent reports for candidates under consideration for the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/07\/15\/unhappy-with-pentagons-religious-liberty-guidance-lawmakers-demand-meeting-with-secdef\/\" target=\"_blank\">served in the House of Representatives<\/a> from 2013 to 2021, was vice chairman of the House Republican Conference and a member of the powerful House Rules Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/11\/13\/trump-picks-fox-commentator-pete-hegseth-as-his-next-defense-secretary\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635576010559718949-tns-tahmooressi-hearing-1013-3717jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump picks Fox commentator Pete Hegseth as his next Defense Secretary<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Hegseth is an Army veteran and will need to be confirmed by the Senate before taking over the top civilian Pentagon post.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also served in the active-duty Navy for two years as a chaplain and re-enlisted in the Air Force Reserve following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He deployed to Iraq in 2008 as a member of the 94th Airlift Wing, and still serves in the reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe 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,\u201d Trump said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins has served as a legal counsel for Trump since leaving Congress three years ago. He also appeared on the campaign trail with Trump throughout the summer, backing the former president\u2019s re-election bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Honored to accept <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Our heroes deserve the best care and support.<br><br>We&#39;ll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they&#39;ve earned.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/StWK0XcYAm\">pic.twitter.com\/StWK0XcYAm<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepDougCollins\/status\/1857200798599360589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins will need to be confirmed by the Senate before taking over the top Veterans Affairs leadership post. A nomination hearing is expected to be held in January, after the new Congress is seated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement on social media, Collins thanked Trump for the opportunity to serve at VA and vowed to \u201cfight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they\u2019ve earned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTogether, we\u2019ll make the VA work for those who fought for us,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTime to deliver for our veterans and give them the world class care they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,7,23,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-71240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"62G67JGDERGIDBCKOJUD3YD6EM","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 326,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Education &amp; Transition\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/14\\\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary - Marine Corps Times","description":"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary","og_description":"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary","datePublished":"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/"},"wordCount":326,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Education &amp; Transition","Home","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/","name":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-14T23:30:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:36:10+00:00","description":"Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and deployed to Iraq in 2008.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-picks-former-congressman-doug-collins-as-next-va-secretary\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24289854090498.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71240"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92469,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71240\/revisions\/92469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71240"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=71240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}