Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Doug

Senate confirms Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs

The Senate confirmed former Rep. Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on Tuesday.

Collins scored one of the widest bipartisan votes of any Trump Cabinet nominee so far: 77 to 23. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confirmed 99-0.

The Air Force Reserve chaplain served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, where he defended President Donald Trump during the 2019 impeachment inquiry.

Collins also passed through the Veterans’ Affairs Committee on a wide bipartisan vote – only Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, had voted against him.

Collins will now head off an agency marred by budget shortfalls, millions paid out to executives who weren’t eligible to receive them, and complaints from veterans of long wait times for care. It’ll be his first time leading an organization as sprawling as the VA and its 400,000 employees and 1,300 health facilities.

HAWAII’S HIRONO ONLY SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON COLLINS, CONTINUING PARTISAN STREAK AT HEARINGS

Former Representative Doug Collins (R-GA), U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, testifies before a Senate Veterans Affairs committee confirmation hearing

“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.”

In response to questions about Trump’s focus on budget cuts and a hiring freeze, Collins said he would work to ensure that did not come at the expense of veterans’ care.

“I’m gonna take care of the veterans. That means that we’re not gonna balance budgets on the back of veterans benefits.”

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., is pictured during his failed 2020 Senate bid (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Collins said he aligned with Trump on allowing veterans choice for their healthcare. Trump during his first term pushed through the Mission Act, which allowed veterans to choose the VA or private care in their communities.

“I believe you can have both. I believe you have a strong VA as it currently exists and have the community care aspect,” he said.

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Democrats repeatedly asked Collins to promise not to privatize the VA, so many times that Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., asked him to “pinky swear” not to do it. Collins held up his pinky to promise that would not happen.

February 4, 2025
Trump VA pick Doug Collins advances to full Senate vote

President Donald Trump’s choice to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, passed a Senate cloture vote Thursday night.

The vote was 83-13.

He will proceed to a full vote on the Senate floor for confirmation, which he is expected to easily secure with a strong bipartisan showing.

A former U.S. congressman, the Gainesville, Georgia native also serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Collins was not expected to face a difficult confirmation fight and saw bipartisan support in his committee hearing, with the lone exception of Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who voted against him.

HAWAII’S HIRONO ONLY SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON COLLINS, CONTINUING PARTISAN STREAK AT HEARINGS

Doug Collins, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is sworn in during his Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Collins, a former U.S. Representative and veteran of the Iraq War, has strong bipartisan support and is not expected to face a difficult confirmation. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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If confirmed as VA secretary, Collins would be tasked with overseeing a beleaguered system of healthcare and benefits for the nation’s veterans.

Long wait times to see providers, lack of access to community care, inadequate mental health support and budget shortfalls are just a few of many problems that have plagued secretaries past in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

This article was written by Fox News staff.

January 31, 2025
Senate set for confirmation vote on Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior

The Senate is set for a Thursday confirmation vote for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

The upper chamber voted to advance Burgum’s nomination to a confirmation vote on Wednesday by a 78–20 margin.

Burgum appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in mid-January, where he told lawmakers that national security issues and the economy were his top two priorities for leading the agency.

BURGUM GRILLED ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TARGETED BY TRUMP DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’

Doug Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. (Saul Loeb)

“When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand,” Burgum said in his opening statement Jan. 16. “It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don’t care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies.”

Lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Burgum on whether he would seek to drill for oil in national parks if Trump asked him to.

“As part of my sworn duty, I’ll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that,” Burgum said. “And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people.”

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, left, questioned Gov. Doug Burgum, right, on whether he plans to “drill, baby, drill.” (Getty Images)

Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign.

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Burgum appeared during the first two Republican presidential debates, but didn’t qualify for the third and ended his campaign in December 2023. He then endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination a month later ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Aubrie Spady, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

January 30, 2025
Senate advances Trump’s pick to lead the US Interior, Doug Burgum

The Senate voted Wednesday to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department — former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — for a final confirmation vote.

Burgum appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in mid-January, where he told lawmakers that national security issues and the economy were his two top priorities for leading the agency.

“When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand,” Burgum said in his opening statement Jan. 16. “It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don’t care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies.”

TRUMP ENERGY NOMINEE HECKLED BY CLIMATE PROTESTERS, DERIDED BY DEM SENATOR AS ‘ENTHUSIAST FOR FOSSIL FUELS’

Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is sworn in during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of the Interior, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2025. (Saul Loeb)

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Burgum on whether he would seek to drill for oil in national parks if Trump asked him to.

“As part of my sworn duty, I’ll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that,” Burgum said. “And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people.”

BURGUM GRILLED ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TARGETED BY TRUMP DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, left, questioned Gov. Doug Burgum, right, on whether he plans to “drill, baby, drill.” (Getty Images)

Additionally, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., questioned whether Burgum backed repealing credits for electric vehicles that may be in jeopardy under the Trump administration.

“I support economics and markets,” Burgum said.

Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign.

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Burgum appeared during the first two Republican presidential debates, but didn’t qualify for the third and ended his campaign in December 2023. He then endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination a month later ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

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Aubrie Spady, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

January 29, 2025
Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff lands law firm gig days after leaving DC

Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, landed a private sector job just days after leaving Washington, D.C.

After his wife’s unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaign against President Donald Trump, the former second gentleman is joining the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as a partner.

The firm made the announcement on Monday – a week after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.

The New York-based firm, which employs about 1,200 lawyers around the world, said Emhoff “brings more than three decades serving as a litigator, trial lawyer, and trusted counsel to clients and global business leaders, as well as extensive experience representing the United States around the world, to Willkie’s broad corporate and litigation platforms.”

FORMER VP HARRIS REPORTEDLY ASKING HILLARY CLINTON FOR ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO AFTER LOSING TO TRUMP

Former first lady Jill Biden and former second gentleman Douglas Emhoff look on after President Donald Trump was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images)

His practice “will focus on advising corporations, boards of directors, and individuals on their most consequential business challenges, sensitive investigations, and complex litigation, including matters with significant reputational concerns that are international in scope, and emerging legal issues across industries and sectors,” the firm said.

“Doug’s leadership and his service as a trusted counselor to many global business leaders across a broad range of industries, as well as his extensive legal expertise and business acumen, make him a tremendous asset,” Willkie Farr & Gallagher Chairman Thomas Cerabino said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be adding Doug to the Willkie partnership during this period of transformational firm growth.”

“I am delighted to be joining Willkie, where I am looking forward to working alongside trusted and innovative legal counselors,” Emhoff said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join this talented and collaborative team.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff listen as President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

HOLLYWOOD FINDS FAILURE TO ELECT KAMALA HARRIS ‘UNSETTLING’: ‘NOT THE DRIVER ANYMORE’

Emhoff will split his time between Los Angeles and New York. The firm said the former second gentleman will also continue to serve as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., teaching a course on entertainment law. Days before leaving office, former President Joe Biden appointed Emhoff to serve on the board of trustees to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

When Harris was selected as Biden’s running mate in August 2020, Emhoff took a leave of absence from one of the country’s largest law firms, DLA Piper. He formally parted ways with the firm before his wife took office.

Emhoff played an influential role in fundraising for his wife’s Democratic bid for the White House against Trump after Biden exited the race. The former second gentleman hosted fundraisers with big law firm donors, as well as his connections in the entertainment industry in California, Reuters reported.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, greet Vice President-elect JD Vance, right, and his wife, Usha Vance, left, upon their arrival at the White House on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In its announcement, Willkie Farr & Gallagher stressed how Emhoff has practiced law for more than 30 years and “served as a trusted advisor to companies and leaders in business and technology hubs around the world, managing high-profile disputes and solving complex problems across entertainment, media, sports, technology, and business.”

The firm also championed Emhoff’s experience as second gentleman, saying “his broad portfolio included traveling around the world representing the United States, including at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, and numerous other diplomatic events, and leading the administration’s work combatting antisemitism.”

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Citing court records, Reuters reported that Emhoff has represented clients including the creators of the movie “American Made,” National Football League wide receiver Willie Gault, as well as the corporations Merck and Walmart.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

January 28, 2025